BS  2415  .A2  T4  v. 5 

Teachings  of  Jesus 

concerning  the  . . 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 
£dzfeddy]OHN  H.  KERR,  D.  D. 


THE   TEACHING    OF   JESUS 
CONCERNING 

THE  HOLY  SPIRIT 


Louis    Burton   Crane,  A.  M. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

CONCERNING 

HIS  OWN  MISSION.         Frank  H.  Foster.      Ready. 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  AND  THE  CHURCH. 
Geerhardus  Vos.        Ready. 
GOD  THE  FATHER 

Archibald  Thomas  Robertson.  " 

THE  SCRIPTURES.     David  James  Burrell. 
THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.     Louis  B.  Crane 
CHRISTIAN  CONDUCT.     Andrew  C.  Zenos      " 

HIS  OWN  PERSON In  preparation. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 

THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

THE  FAMILY 

A    Series  of  volumes   on   the  "  Teachings  of    Jesus " 
by  eminent  writers  and  divines. 

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AMERICAN"  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS 


CONCERNING 


THE  HOLY  SPIRIT 


Louis  Burton   Crane,  A.  M. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY 

150  NASSAU   STREET 
NEW  YORK 


Copyright,  igo^,  by 
AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY 


TO  MY  MOTHER 


PREFACE 


rHE  application  of  the  results  of 
the  study  of  psychology  to  the 
Biblical  writings  has  opened  up 
a  most  interesting  field  for  the  student  of 
religion.  It  is  profitable  to  consider  the 
origin  and  growth  of  religious  sanctions 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  individuals 
who  cherished  them,  and  to  mark  the 
order  in  which  the  various  impressions 
which  in  their  sum  constitute  author- 
ity came  to  their  own  in  the  human  heart. 
I  can  but  think,  however,  that  only  a 
partial  view  is  gained  when  the  great  fact 
of  revelation  is  disregarded  in  these  at- 
tempts. It  is  one  thing  to  ask  how,  God 
and  His  message  assumed,  men  regarded 

vii 


viii  Preface 

Him,  how  much  they  comprehended 
of  His  will  and  how  they  conceived 
themselves  to  be  doing  His  will  as  spoken  ; 
and  quite  another  thing  to  assume  that 
all  the  efforts  of  men  to  feel  after  God  if 
haply  they  may  find  Him  are  on  the  same 
plane  with  the  instructed  beliefs  of  those 
who  were  within  the  sphere  of  revealed 
truth.  It  may  be  admitted  without  ques- 
tion that  revelation  was  at  first  partial, 
and  that  it  was  from  the  first  progressive. 
But  unless  all  real  authority  is  to  be  de- 
nied to  the  religion  which  issued  in 
Christianity  the  first  fact  to  be  recognized 
in  the  study  of  Bible  doctrine  is  God. 

Consequently  we  are  not  considering 
in  this  brief  study  the  psychology  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  or  of  His  influence  upon 
men.  It  is  no  especial  concern  of  ours, 
for  our  present  purpose,  how  men  con- 
ceived of  Him  who  were  outside  the 
circle  wherein  He  caused  His  name  to 
be  known.  Did  the  primitive  seeker 
after  God  derive  the  idea  of  the  Spirit  of 


Preface  ix 

God  from  his  own  spirit,  thus  reasoning 
from  the  less  to  the  greater  ?  Or  did  he 
argue  from  the  name  '*  spirit  "  which  in 
both  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages  means 
also  *'  wind, "  that  God  was  therefore  like 
the  wind  *'  unsearchable  in  origin  "  and 
"  immaterial  in  essence  "  ?  These  are 
interesting  questions  to  the  student  of 
the  origin  of  religion  but  they  are  not  the 
immediate  concern  of  Biblical  Theology. 
Did  men  at  first  generally  ascribe  all  that 
was  unusual  and  surprising  in  their  ex- 
perience to  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  Perhaps 
so,  where  they  were  without  definite 
knowledge  of  Him.  But  the  Old  Testa- 
ment describes  how  God  chose  out  of 
the  world  certain  individuals  and  after- 
ward a  people  to  whom  to  make  Him- 
self known  and  we  cannot  therefore 
attribute  to  them  such  ignorant  and  su- 
perstitious conceptions. 

If  we  desire  to  know  what  was  the 
origin  of  the  notions  of  power  and  mys- 
tery which  were  from  the  first  attached 


X  Preface 

to  the  term  '*  Spirit  of  God  "  we  shall 
probably  not  go  astray  in  deriving  them, 
not  from  the  idea  of  ''spirit  "  but  from 
the  descriptive  phrase  *'of  God."  God 
had  revealed  Himself  as  powerful  and 
awe-inspiring.  Hence  His  Spirit  must 
naturally  be  above  the  limitations  of  the 
finite.  Our  task,  however,  is  to  discover, 
on  the  basis  of  a  belief  in  an  authoritative 
revelation,  what  was  actually  revealed. 
Of  course  we  must  not  neglect  the  ele- 
ment of  progress.  We  dare  not  attribute 
Paul's  conception  of  the  truth  to  M-oses 
nor  need  we  expect  to  find  even  in  Isaiah 
the  teachings  of  Jesus.  That  we  do  find 
some  of  the  later  doctrines  anticipated  in 
the  earlier  writings  is  for  us  a  proof  of 
the  unity  of  revelation. 

What  did  Jesus  teach  concerning  the 
Holy  Spirit .?  We  find  the  phrase  upon 
His  lips  early  in  His  ministry.  He  feels 
no  necessity  for  its  definition.  He  con- 
sequently uses  the  term  conscious  that  it 
had  already  a  definite  connotation,  and 


Preface  xi 

without  express  correction  of  any  previous 
erroneous  teaching.  We  must  therefore 
begin  with  the  Old  Testament  in  order 
to  discover  what  is  there  taught  about 
the  Spirit  of  God.  Jesus  uses  the  phrase 
or  its  equivalents  at  intervals  throughout 
His  teaching  activity,  according  to  the 
record  of  all  four  evangelists.  We  as- 
sume as  not  needing  justification  in  this 
place  that  all  four  are  equally  authorita- 
tive as  witnesses  to  what  He  said,  and 
that  they  present  a  trustworthy  record  of 
His  teachings.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
state  that  it  is  the  apostles  to  whom  we 
must  go  for  the  mature  truth  about  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Jesus  taught  in  full  view 
of  the  fact  that  He  was  entrusting  the 
development  of  His  teaching  to  those 
men  whom  He  had  chosen,  whose  writ- 
ings with  their  records  of  the  Master's 
words  and  deeds  make  up  our  New 
Testament.  It  is  in  the  epistles,  particu- 
larly of  Paul,  that  we  find  the  ripe,  com- 
pleted doctrine.     The    historical  reason 


xii  Preface 

for  this  fact  we  will  try  to  unfold  in  the 
course  of  our  treatment. 

This  study  is  offered  to  Christians  with 
the  prayer  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Truth 
with  whom  it  is  concerned  may  make  ef- 
fective whatever  in  it  is  His  work,  and 
overrule  for  the  truth's  sake  whatever  is 
inspired  by  the  spirit  of  error. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.  The    Spirit    of    God  in   the   Old 

Testament i 

II.  The  Distribution  of  the  Teach- 
ing        24 

III.  The  Equipment  of  the  Messiah      .  35 

IV.  The  Spirit   and  the   Kingdom       .  42 
V.  The  Sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  53 

VI.  The  Father's  Chief  Gift    ...     62 
VII.  The  Promise    of    the    Paraclete  : 

His   Mission  to  the  Twelve      .     70 
VIII.  The    Promise    of   the   Paraclete  : 

The  Christian  Life      ....   102 
IX.  The    Promise  of    the    Paraclete  : 

The  Conviction  of  the  World.   120 
X.  The    Promise    of   the   Paraclete  : 
His    Relation    to    the    Father 

AND  TO  THE  SoN I3O 

XI.  The  Great  Commission      ....   143 

XII.  Summary 152 

XIII.  Indices 159 

xiii 


CHAPTER  I 

The  Spirit  of  God  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

rHE  allusions  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment to  the  Spirit  of  God  fall  natu- 
rally into  three  classes :  First, 
those  which  refer  to  the  Spirit's  activity 
in  creation  ;  second,  those  which  indicate 
the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the  redemp- 
tive purpose  of  God ;  and  third,  those 
which  express  the  superintendence  of  the 
Spirit  over  the  spiritual  lives  of  individ- 
uals. 

The  Spirit  and  the  Cosmos 

The  Spirit  is  first  revealed  in  the  Old 


2  The  Holy  Spirit 

Testament  as  the  power  of  God  work- 
ing in  creation.  In  Gen.  i.  2  it  was  the 
Spirit  of  God  that  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters.  The  word  by  which  this 
activity  is  described  is  an  interesting  one. 
It  is  found  also  in  Deut.  xxxii.  11,  where 
it  refers  to  the  brooding  of  the  mother 
bird  over  her  young.  So  here  we  may 
understand  that  this  action  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  not  only  that  of  protecting 
but  that  it  produced  results  in  the  order 
and  life  of  the  Cosmos.  God  works  in 
creation,  according  to  the  writer  of 
Genesis,  by  the  agency  of  His  Spirit. 
Not  only  the  inanimate  and  the  brute 
creation  but  man  himself  must  look  to 
the  Spirit  as  the  source  of  being.  We 
read  that  God  breathed  into  man's 
nostrils  the  breath  or  the  Spirit  of  life 
and  he  became  a  living  soul  (Gen.  ii.  7). 
This  creative  energy  of  the  Spirit  is  the 
general  belief  of  the  Old  Testament 
writers.  '*  Thou  sendest  forth  thy  Spirit, 
they  are  created  "  ;  referring  to  the  brute 


In  the  Old  Testament  3 

creation  (Ps.  civ.  30).  *'  By  his  Spirit  the 
heavens  are  garnished  "  (Job  xxvi.  13). 
"  The  Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me  and 
the  breath  of  the  Almighty  giveth  me 
life  "  (Job  xxxiii.  4). 

The  truth  seems  to  be  that  God  works 
by  His  Spirit  in  the  creation  and  preser- 
vation of  His  world.  There  is  no  dis- 
tinction in  person  between  God  and  His 
Spirit  such  as  one  familiar  with  the  New 
Testament  would  expect.  The  Spirit  of 
God  in  the  Old  Testament  is  rather  God 
at  work.  God  worked  in  the  creation 
of  the  world  and  in  establishing  its  order. 
God  works  since  creation  in  the  continual 
preserving  of  the  order  and  harmony  of 
His  creation,  in  maintaining  its  life  and 
in  providing  for  the  sustenance  of  His 
creatures.    All  this  He  does  by  His  Spirit. 

The  Spirit  in  the  Theocracy 

A  second  and  much  more  frequent 
employment  of  the  phrase  **  Spirit  of 
God  "  in  the  Old  Testament  is  in  relation 


4  The  Holy  Spirit 

to  the  purpose  of  God  to  make  for  Him- 
self a  people.  Many  of  the  uses  of  the 
term  which  seem  otherwise  difficult  to 
explain  become  on  this  view  plain  enough. 
Why  should  it  be  said  of  Gideon  and  of 
Samson  and  of  Saul  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
came  upon  them,  causing  them,  un- 
worthy instruments  perhaps,  to  triumph 
in  battle,  to  display  surprising  feats  of 
strength  before  the  Philistines,  to  proph- 
esy with  the  prophets  ?  (Judges  vi.  34  ; 
xiii.  25  ;  I  Sam.  x.  6).  Simply  because 
these  men  were  in  the  theocratic  line, 
being  the  agents  of  God  in  the  establish- 
ment of  His  great  redemptive  purposes. 
The  lesson  that  they  teach  is  not  that 
God  in  the  Old  Testament  record  is  in- 
different to  personal  character,  but  that 
He  can  and  does  use  even  wicked  and  care- 
less men  as  the  agents  of  His  theocratic 
kingdom,  to  accomplish  His  almighty 
will.  So  then  in  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  the  redemptive  purpose  of  God 
the  Spirit  of  God  was  the  agent.     He 


In  the  Old  Testament  5 

was  known  even  by  Pharaoh  to  have 
possessed  Joseph  in  Egypt  (Gen.  xH. 
38).  He  was  characteristic  of  Moses 
during  the  days  of  his  leadership  of  the 
people,  and  He  inspired  the  seventy  men 
who  assisted  Moses  in  administering  the 
laws  to  the  people  (Num.  xi.  17,  25-30). 
The  Spirit  came  upon  Bezalel  to  en- 
dow him  with  wisdom  and  understand- 
ing and  knowledge,  and  skill  in  all 
manner  of  workmanship  ;  to  work  in 
metal  and  stone  and  wood  for  the  taber- 
nacle, the  cradle  of  worship  for  the  infant 
people  of  God  (Ex.  xxxi.  3).  Whether 
we  are  to  regard  this  endowment  as  a 
special  and  new  thing,  so  as  to  make 
Bezalel  able  for  kinds  of  work  of  which 
he  knew  nothing  before,  as  some  hold,  or 
whether  it  simply  acted  so  as  to  enhance 
his  own  natural  powers,  as  others  believe, 
we  are  not  told.  Nor  is  it  of  much  mo- 
ment. The  point  is  that  Bezalel 's  fit- 
ness for  this  special  service  for  the  the- 
ocracy was  due  to  God  acting  by  His  Spirit 


6  The  Holy  Spirit 

upon  him.  The  lesson  to  be  impressed 
upon  Israel  through  all  the  history  was 
that  the  nation  was  what  it  was  because 
God  had  by  His  own  grace  chosen  to 
call  a  people  to  Himself,  and  give  them 
laws  and  provide  them  a  home.  The 
tabernacle  was  God's  thought  not  Is- 
rael's. His  Spirit  used  men  to  make  it 
but  it  was  His  gift  for  their  communion 
with  Him  which  was  their  highest  good. 

The  Inspiration  of  the  Prophets 

The  guidance  of  the  events  which  made 
history  in  the  days  of  the  old  covenant, 
we  are  taught  on  every  page  of  the  Old 
Testament  as  well  as  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, was  due  to  God.  That  guidance 
was  made  concrete  in  the  persons  of  an 
especial  order  of  men  called  prophets. 
The  prophet  might  be  a  fore-teller, 
but  according  to  Old  Testament  belief  he 
was  preeminently  a  for-teller.  He  might 
and  often  did  predict  the  future  in  the 
course   of  his   prophetic  work.     But  to 


In  the  Old  Testament  7 

be  a  prophet  was  to  be  the  spokesman 
of  God,  to  be  God's  representative  on 
the  earth,  to  declare  His  will.  He  knew 
God's  thought — in  part.  He  was  in  di- 
rect communion  with  Him — at  times  at 
least.  To  obey  him  was  to  obey  God  ; 
to  reject  him  was  to  reject  God. 

Now  the  prophets  were  regarded  as 
the  peculiar  recipients  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Our  word  inspiration  is  our  record 
of  the  strength  of  the  impression  gained 
from  the  Bible  that  the  prophets  were 
breathed  into  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  that 
what  they  said  they  said  under  the  im- 
pulse of  God.  This  was  not  only  the 
case  with  the  prophets  who  lived  and 
worked  before  the  time  from  which  we 
have  written  prophecy.  It  is  no  less  true 
of  those  who  have  left  us  the  records  of 
their  activity.  We  may  say  then  that 
the  oral  and  written  guidance  of  Israel 
during  all  the  time  of  their  national  life 
was  directly  due  to  the  Spirit  of  God. 
It  may  not  yet  be  perfectly  clear  to  us 


8  The  Holy  Spirit 

just  what  effect  the  influx  or  efflux  of  the 
Spirit  had  upon  a  man  selected  to  be  a 
prophet.  What  hints  Scripture  gives  us 
are  evidently  not  given  for  the  purpose 
of  satisfying  our  curiosity.  They  are 
meant  to  conserve  the  facts,  not  to  add 
to  the  data  for  abnormal  psychology. 
Yet  we  may  believe  that  these  men, 
faulty  men  of  their  time,  were  so  acted 
upon  by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  to  make 
them  different,  as  to  make  them  the 
mediators  of  truth  which  had  it  been 
heeded  would  have  caused  a  new  history 
of  Israel  to  be  enacted. 

The  Spirit  and  the  Messianic  Age 

But  these  men  not  only  sounded  forth 
a  futile  warning  to  Israel  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  of  God.  They  tes- 
tified of  a  new  era  coming  to  Israel  and 
to  the  world.  They  were  the  heralds  of 
a  new  day  which  should  succeed  the 
night  of  national  apostasy.  A  personal 
Messiah  was   to   appear.     A    Messianic 


In  the  Old  Testament  9 

age  was  to  dawn  when  a  king  should 
rule  in  righteousness.  And  from  the 
beginning  that  new  day  was  associated 
in  a  very  peculiar  manner  with  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Isaiah  (xxxii.  15)  connects  the 
time  of  the  regeneration  of  Israel,  when 
the  wilderness  should  become  a  fruitful 
field,  with  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  as  from  on  high.  **  Then  justice 
shall  dwell  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  right- 
eousness shall  abide  in  the  fruitful  field. 
And  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be 
peace  ;  and  the  effect  of  righteousness, 
quietness  and  confidence  forever"  (xxxii. 
16,  17).  Again,  "  Fear  not,  O  Jacob  my 
servant ;  and  thou,  Jeshurun,  whom  I 
have  chosen.  For  I  will  pour  water 
upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  streams 
upon  the  dry  ground  ;  I  will  pour  my 
Spirit  upon  thy  seed  and  my  blessing 
upon  thine  offspring  "  (Isa.  xliv.  2,  3). 
The  time  of  revival  when  all  the  evil  ef- 
fects of  the  sin  and  apostasy  of  the  old 
Israel  should  be  forgotten  and  overcome 


lo  The  Holy  Spirit 

in  the  obedience  and  joy  of  the  new 
Israel,  was  to  be  preeminently  a  day  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  The  Spirit  was  to  be 
the  agent  and  accompaniment  of  this 
glorious  work  of  restoration  and  renewal. 
Ezekiel  (xxxvi.  27)  makes  the  advent  of 
the  Spirit  a  time  of  moral  and  spiritual 
renewal  in  Israel.  **  I  will  sprinkle  clean 
water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean 
.  .  .  a  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you. 
.  .  .  And  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within 
you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  stat- 
utes, and  ye  shall  keep  mine  ordinances, 
and  do  them"  (see  also  xxxvii.  14).  The 
well-known  passage  in  Joel  (ii.  28  ff.)  ex- 
presses the  same  thought.  In  this  case, 
however,  we  have  the  New  Testament's 
express  identification  of  the  time  of  Jesus 
with  the  time  of  which  the  prophet 
spoke  (Acts  ii.  16). 

So  that  we  may  freely  say  that  the  glo- 
rious era  of  Israel's  history  when  their 
backsliding  should  be  healed  and  the  re- 
demption long  promised  should  be  real- 


In  the  Old  Testament        ii 

ized  was  to  be  brought  about  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  He  was  to  be  the  agent 
of  the  change. 

The  Spirit  and  the  Messiah 

But  we  can  go  still  further ;  for  this 
new  day  was  made  still  more  definite  by 
these  old  men  of  God.  They  were  given 
to  see  not  only  a  new  epoch  for  the 
nation  when  all  their  sorrows  should  be 
passed  and  the  days  of  their  weeping 
should  be  ended,  but  they  were  given 
the  vision  of  the  One  by  whom  and 
through  whom  all  this  was  to  be  accom- 
plished. For  the  redemption  of  Israel 
was  to  be  effected  by  a  Redeemer.  The 
course  of  the  development  of  the  con- 
ception of  the  personal  Messiah  is  famil- 
iar to  all  Bible  students.  We  know  how 
this  figure  in  prophecy  at  first  dim  and 
shadowy  gradually  became  to  the  vision 
of  the  seer  more  definite  until  in  the 
later  days  of  the  great  prophet  there 
stood  before  the  nation  the  presentment 


12  The  Holy  Spirit 

of  the  suffering  Saviour,  the  One  who 
was  to  be  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter — 
"  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  bruised 
for  our  iniquities."  But  the  significant 
thing  for  our  study  is  that  the  same  Scrip- 
tures represent  this  personal  Messiah  as 
in  a  very  peculiar  and  sympathetic  rela- 
tion to  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  Isaiah  tells 
of  the  shoot  out  of  the  worn-out  stock 
of  Jesse  and  the  fruit-bearing  branch  out 
of  his  roots,  he  adds  as  quite  in  natural 
order,  *'  and  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  shall 
rest  upon  Him,"  which  is  ''  the  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  of  understanding,  the  spirit 
of  counsel  and  of  might,  the  spirit  of 
knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  Jehovah" 
(xi.  1).  That  is,  the  equipment  of  the 
Messiah  for  His  great  work  shall  be  due 
directly  to  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  book  of  Isaiah 
where  we  read  of  the  Servant  of  Jehovah 
the  same  combination  is  found  (xlii.  1). 
There  is  of  course  no  doubt  that  the  Ser- 
vant is  in  some  passages  not  thought  of 


In  the  Old  Testament        13 

as  a  single  person,  that  He  is  identified  so 
to  speak  with  the  Messianic  people,  but 
from  the  whole  drift  of  the  teaching 
concerning  the  Servant  we  gather  that 
the  Messianic  people  were  to  be  gathered 
up  in  one  personal  representative.  What 
He  does,  He  does  as  the  idealized  head 
of  the  true  Israel,  the  Servant  of  Jehovah 
as  Israel  will  come  to  be  in  Him,  in  the 
new  time  of  which  the  prophet  speaks. 
So  also  the  Servant  speaking  in  the  48th 
chapter  of  Isaiah  in  a  remarkable  passage 
whose  meaning  is  not  altogether  clear, 
claims  the  accompaniment  of  the  Spirit 
in  a  work  of  judgment  upon  the  enemies 
of  Jehovah  and  of  chastening  for  Israel. 
*'  Behold,  I  have  refined  thee,  but  not  as 
silver ;  I  have  chosen  thee  in  the  furnace 
of  affliction.  .  .  He  whom  Jehovah 
loveth  (Israel)  shall  perform  his  pleasure 
on  Babylon,  and  his  arm  shall  be  on  the 
Chaldeans.  .  .  Come  ye  near  unto 
me,  hear  ye  this  ;  from  the  beginning  I 
have  not  spoken  in  secret ;  from  the  time 


14  The  Holy  Spirit 

that  it  was,  there  am  I  :  and  now  the 
Lord  Jehovah  hath  sent  me  and  his  Spir- 
it" (vv.  10,  14-16).  We  are  probably 
to  take  "his  Spirit"  here  as  object  and 
not  as  subject  of  the  sentence,  and  if  so 
it  simply  corroborates  our  previous  find- 
ings as  to  the  relation  between  the  Ser- 
vant and  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  Spirit  and  the  Individual 

The  third  function  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
Old  Testament  was  the  promotion  of 
fellowship  with  God  and  the  cherishing 
of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  individuals 
whom  God  called  to  Himself.  That 
there  was  a  personal  religious  life  taught 
and  practiced  by  the  Old  Testament 
saints  it  is  impossible  to  deny  without 
disregarding  the  plain  teaching  of  the 
Psalms  and  much  of  the  prophets. 
There  are  passages  which  indicate  that 
the  Spirit  was  the  guide  and  helper  of 
the  man  who  was  ambitious  after  holi- 
ness.     **  Cast  me   not  away    from   thy 


In  the  Old  Testament        15 

presence;  and  take  not  thy  holy  Spirit 
from  me"  (Ps.  li.  11).  *' Teach  me 
to  do  thy  will  ;  for  thou  art  my  God : 
thy  Spirit  is  good"  (Ps.  cxliii.  10). 
This  sanctifying  agency  of  the  Spirit  is 
not  yet  fully  developed.  It  needed  the 
fuller  teaching  of  Jesus  and  His  apostles 
to  bring  it  to  maturity  ;  but  as  surely  as 
sanctification  was  possible  under  the  old 
covenant  so  surely  was  it  the  Spirit  who 
effected  it.  Much  could  not  be  revealed 
about  the  way  of  sanctification  until  its 
means  were  provided  for  all  men.  God's 
sacrifice  for  sin  must  first  be  offered,  and 
the  Old  Testament  from  first  to  last  is  pri- 
marily concerned  with  the  preparation 
for  a  Redeemer.  We  must  expect 
therefore,  to  find  that  the  function  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  on  which  most  stress  is  laid 
is  the  function  which  is  most  intimately 
related  to  the  purpose  of  God  to  provide 
a  Redeemer. 

What  then  have  we  found  as  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Old  Testament  about  the 


1 6  The  Holy  Spirit 

Spirit  ?  Chiefly  this.  That  the  Spirit  is 
God  active  in  the  world.  That  He  is 
especially  the  divine  principle  working 
for  the  redemption  of  men.  God  in  the 
Old  Testament  works,  at  least  from 
within,  on  the  hearts  of  men,  by  His 
Spirit.  We  should  doubtless  find  that  He 
exercised  His  rule  from  without,  by  ex- 
ternal manifestations,  by  the  Angel  of 
Jehovah.  But  the  redemptive  agent 
that  worked  in  men's  hearts  was  His 
Spirit,  His  good  Spirit,  His  holy  Spirit, 
as  it  is  variously  called.  From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  manifestations  of  the  The- 
ocracy, in  the  life  and  work  of  Moses, 
in  the  building  of  the  tabernacle,  in  the 
work  of  the  prophets  of  Judah  and  of 
Israel,  and  lastly  and  most  gloriously  in 
the  mission  of  the  Messiah  and  in  the 
promised  wonders  of  the  Messianic  age, 
it  is  the  Spirit  who  is  God  active,  equip- 
ping lawgiver  and  artificer,  prophet  and 
king  to  do  God's  work  to  prepare  Israel 
and  the  world  for  the  great  work  of  re- 


In  the  Old  Testament        17 

demption  through  the  Messiah  of  Je- 
hovah. 

Other  functions  of  the  Spirit  are  not 
dwelt  upon.  The  cosmic  Spirit  is  given 
his  true  place  and  left  in  order  to  describe 
his  more  important  function  of  guiding 
the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  toward 
Jesus  Christ.  So  also  we  have  found  the 
Spirit  to  be  the  agent  of  God  in  sanctifi- 
cation,  but  as  already  indicated  this  func- 
tion could  not  as  yet  be  revealed  in  its  ma- 
turity. The  Old  Testament  looks  toward 
Christ.  It  is  therefore  natural  that  the 
chief  function  of  the  Spirit  of  God  should 
be  the  superintendence  of  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation whose  preparatory  stages  it  was  the 
purpose  of  the  Old  Testament  to  de- 
scribe. 

We  have  found  also  that  there  was 
foretold  a  time  when  the  Spirit  then 
working  within  limits  which  were  pre- 
scribed by  the  historical  necessities  of 
the  case,  would  be  poured  out  without 
measure.     This  thought  of  the  two  eras 

B 


1 8  The  Holy  Spirit 

of  the  Spirit's  power  and  influence  (ve 
must  keep  clearly  in  mind  as  it  is  not 
possible  to  understand  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  without  giving  it  its  full  weight. 

The  Trinity  in  the  Old  Testament^ 

But  what  shall  we  say  as  to  the  Trinity 
in  the  Old  Testament?  Merely  this, 
that  the  doctrine  is  not  therein  revealed. 
The  Spirit  is  God  active  in  the  hearts  of 
men  to  accomplish  His  glorious  pur- 
poses, chiefly  of  redemption.  In  the 
same  way  the  doctrine  of  the  Son  of 
God  is  not  specifically  revealed  in  the 
Old  Testament.  This  does  not  affect 
our  attitude  to  the  very  explicit  teaching 
of  the  New  Testament  concerning  the 
eternal  Sonship  of  Christ.  We  can  by 
the  aid  of  the  later  teaching  trace  His 
working  in  the  days  of  the  older  revela- 
tion and  find  a  fine  harmony  between 
the  dim  and  shadowy  outlines  of  the  past 
and  the  clearly  defined  presentation  of 
the  present  era.     So  with  respect  to  the 


In  the  Old  Testament        19 

doctrine  of  the  Spirit.  There  were  no 
doubt  reasons  which  we  cannot  fathom 
why  God  chose  so  to  unfold  His  nature 
step  by  step  to  His  people.  The  weak 
and  faulty  minds  of  men  could  not  re- 
ceive the  whole  truth  at  once.  Particu- 
larly in  Israel  where  there  was  so  much 
inclination  to  idolatry  He  no  doubt  re- 
vealed Himself  in  His  unity  rather  than 
in  His  triune  nature  to  save  His  people 
from  further  temptation  to  this  sin. 

There  are,  however,  not  lacking  indi- 
cations which  in  the  light  of  the  later 
teaching  we  may  translate  into  manifesta- 
tions of  the  advanced  doctrine  of  the 
nature  of  God.  There  are  passages 
where  God  and  the  Spirit  are  distin- 
guished. The  Spirit  is  sent  from  God  as 
if  it  were  a  distinct  entity.  Men  are  said 
to  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God.  Further, 
God  in  creation  speaks  in  the  plural, 
'*  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image. " 
Some  have  held  this  to  be  an  indication 
of  the    other  persons  in  the  Godhead. 


20  The  Holy  Spirit 

Others  have  regarded  it  as  a  plural  of 
majesty.  But  God  never  hesitates  to  say 
**  I."  Others  again  have  thought  that 
it  was  addressed  to  the  angelic  host.  But 
we  lack  any  other  hint  that  the  angels 
were  God's  agents  in  creation  or  that  we 
are  made  in  their  image.  The  first  in- 
terpretation is  therefore  the  safest.  Fi- 
nally, the  passage  which  we  have  already 
quoted  contains,  if  our  reading  of  it  is 
the  true  one,  a  grouping  of  the  persons 
of  the  Trinity  which  in  the  light  of  later 
teaching  is  most  striking.  The  Servant 
of  Jehovah  says  (Isa.  xlviii.  16)  *'  Now 
the  Lord  Jehovah  hath  sent  me  and  his 
Spirit." 

The  so-called  "  historical "  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament  will  of  course 
reject  these  discoveries  of  latent  New 
Testament  truth  in  the  older  writings. 
Its  advocates  insist  that  we  are  to  find 
nothing  in  the  Old  Testament  but  what 
was  currently  known  and  believed  at  the 
time  of  the  composition  of  the  books. 


In  the  Old  Testament        21 

But  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  view  of  the 
New  Testament  that  these  "  holy  men  of 
old  "  were  frequently  used  by  the  Spirit 
to  utter  truth  which  they  did  not  them- 
selves fully  grasp  (I  Pet.  i.  10-12).  If  in- 
deed the  prophets  themselves  are  compe- 
tent witnesses  as  to  their  relation  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  we  need  not  be  surprised 
to  find  them  far  in  advance  of  their  day 
in  the  teachings  that  they  utter. 

No  doubt  we  are  to  treat  these  intima- 
tions, if  they  are  such,  as  nothing  more. 
We  are  not  to  seek  for  the  full-rounded 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  in  these 
preparatory  days,  but  nevertheless  it  is 
instructive  to  one  who  believes  in  the 
progress  of  revelation  to  find  that  the 
Old  Testament  has  left  room  for  the 
more  specific  teaching  of  the  New. 

If  you  go  into  a  modern  printing  office 
where  the  full-color  illustrations  for  one 
of  our  great  magazines  are  prepared  you 
will  find  that  as  many  plates  are  required 
as  there  are  primary  colors.     First,  the 


22  The  Holy  Spirit 

yellow  values  of  the  artist's  conception 
are  printed.  A  little  here  and  a  little 
more  there,  deep  or  pale  according  to  the 
degree  of  intended  combination  with 
other  colors  to  be  later  applied.  Then 
the  red  values  are  added  in  the  same  way, 
superimposed  upon  the  first  printing  so 
as  to  furnish  all  the  red  and  yellow  tones 
which  will  exist  in  the  finished  proof. 
What  the  picture  will  be  like  no  one  ex- 
cept an  expert  can  tell.  But  when  the 
blue  values  are  applied  in  the  third  process 
and  the  lines  are  more  perfectly  defined 
by  the  black  ink  of  the  fourth  process, 
the  full  glory  of  the  artist's  idea  appears. 
It  is  somewhat  the  same  with  the  pic- 
ture of  the  Spirit's  nature  and  work  in 
the  successive  revelations  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  It  is  not  easy  to  read 
the  final  state  of  the  doctrine  from  the 
first  impression.  The  first  values  to  be 
applied  are  necessary  to  the  full  and  final 
form.  But  they  can  only  be  perfecdy 
understood  by  a  glance  at  the  finished 


In  the  Old  Testament        23 

truth  made  complete  at  the  hands  of  the 
Christ  and  His  apostles.  For  when  with 
delicate  and  sure  articulation  those  later 
hues  have  been  applied  we  gain  the  full- 
rounded  and  mature  idea  of  the  Master 
Artist. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Distribution  of  the  Teaching. 

TTT^WWt^  we  come  to  examine  the 
f^f^  four  Gospels  which  are  the 
main  sources  of  our  knowledge 
as  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  we  are 
struck  with  a  significant  fact.  We  dis- 
cover that  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  there 
is  little  if  any  advance  upon  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Old  Testament.  We  know 
little  more  about  the  Spirit  of  God  when 
we  have  read  the  first  three  Gospels  than 
we  do  when  we  have  studied  the  passages 
of  the  Old  Testament  which  refer  to  the 
Spirit.  There  are  only  two  or  three  pas- 
sages in  these  Gospels  in  which  appreci- 
24 


Distribution  of  Teaching     25 

able  progress  is  made  and  these  would 
not  be  intelligible  had  we  not  other  say- 
ings of  Jesus  by  which  to  interpret  them. 
The  new  teaching  is  almost  all  found  in 
the  Gospel  of  John  and  in  that  Gospel 
almost  all  in  the  last  discourses  of  Jesus 
which  are  characteristic  of  it. 

The  Teaching  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels 

In  the  Synoptic  Gospels  we  have  em- 
phasized with  some  force  the  relation 
which  we  marked  in  our  review  of  the 
Old  Testament  doctrine,  of  the  Spirit  to 
the  Messianic  age  and  to  the  personal 
Messiah.  Jesus  appears  at  Nazareth  and 
claims  to  be  the  one  foretold  in  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah.  **  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He  anointed 
me  "  (Luke  iv.  18)  to  do  the  things 
which  from  of  old  have  been  promised 
of  the  Messiah  (Isa.  Ixi.  1).  In  a  con- 
troversy with  the  Pharisees  in  which  they 
ascribe  His  power  to  cast  out  demons  to 
the  spirit  of  evil  He  replies,  *'  If  I  by  the 


26  The  Holy  Spirit 

Spirit  of  God  cast  out  demons,  then  is  the 
kingdom  of  God  come  upon  you  "  (Matt. 
xii.  28).  These  are  simply  identifica- 
tions of  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament concerning  the  relation  of  the 
Spirit  to  the  Kingdom  and  the  Messiah. 
They  point  to  the  fulfillment  of  proph- 
ecy. 

Likewise  the  passage  in  regard  to  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  follows 
in  the  same  connection  in  Matthew's 
Gospel.  As  we  shall  attempt  to  show, 
(ch.  V.)  the  sin  of  the  Pharisees  was 
against  the  Spirit  as  the  superintending 
agent  of  redemption.  It  was  not  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  more  inviolable  in 
His  person  than  the  Father  or  the  Son, 
but  because  His  work  was  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  salvation  for  men,  and  rejection 
of  that  salvation  was  therefore  peculiarly 
sin  against  Him.  He  was  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God — to  oppose 
it  was  to  oppose  Him,  and  this  was  the 
climax  of  ingratitude  to  God. 


Distribution  of  Teaching     i^i 

We  have  also  the  corroboration  of  Je- 
sus of  the  Old  Testament  view  of  the 
source  of  the  power  of  the  prophets. 
He  attributes  the  prediction  of  David  in 
which  he  testified  of  the  Messiah,  to  the 
Spirit  (Ps.  ex.  1 ;  Matt.  xxii.  43,  44  ;  cf. 
Mark  xii.  36).  This  simply  reiterates  the 
earlier  teaching  that  when  the  Old  Tes- 
tament prophets  worked  and  wrote  it 
was  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
We  find  therefore  thus  far  no  advance 
upon  the  former  conceptions  of  the 
Spirit. 

Transition  to  the  later  Teaching 

A  connecting  link  between  the  earlier 
and  the  later  teaching  is,  however,  prob- 
ably to  be  seen  in  the  passage  in  Matt.  x. 
19,  20,  {cf.  Mark  xiii.  11  ;  Luke  xii  12). 
*'  When  they  deliver  you  up,  be  not  anx- 
ious how  or  what  ye  shall  speak  ;  for  it 
shall  be  given  you  in  that  hour  what  ye 
shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak, 
but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that  speak- 


28  The  Holy  Spirit 

eth  in  you."  Here  is  continued  the 
earlier  idea  that  God's  called  servants  are 
equipped  with  the  Spirit  for  the  work 
which  is  given  them  to  do.  But  the 
passage  contains  the  further  notion  which 
we  have  not  as  yet  seen  that  there  was  a 
day  coming  in  which  the  Spirit  would  be 
the  personal  helper  and  guide  of  God's 
messengers.  No  explicit  mention  is  made 
of  His  personal  character  to  be  sure. 
But  the  sort  of  help  which  is  here  prom- 
ised would  be  unintelligible  unless  this 
speaking  Spirit  were  personal.  As  such 
the  passage  becomes  a  foregleam  of  the 
Johannine  promise  of  the  Paraclete  or 
Advocate  who  should  plead  their  cause 
before  men.  It  is  at  least  an  intimation 
of  the  time  when  the  Spirit  should  be 
revealed  in  His  personal  and  sympathetic 
character. 

The  two  remaining  references  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  to  the  Holy  Spirit  were 
spoken  by  Jesus  after  His  resurrection. 
We  should  naturally  expect  them  to  be 


Distribution  of  Teaching     29 

tinged  with  the  thoughts  of  the  last  dis- 
courses uttered  just  before  His  crucifix- 
ion. One  of  them  is  indeed  couched  in 
language  in  which  direct  allusion  is  made 
to  the  promise  of  the  Paraclete  (Luke 
xxiv.  49  ;  Acts  i.  4).  The  other  could 
not  be  understood  except  on  the  basis  of 
that  promise  (Matt,  xxviii.  19). 

The  Teaching  of  John  s  Gospel 

Turning  now  to  the  Gospel  of  John 
we  find  that  the  teaching  that  is  charac- 
teristic of  that  Gospel  is  that  which  we 
have  found  by  allusion  only  in  these  last 
three  passages  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 
Especially  in  the  chapters  which  contain 
the  farewell  discourses  of  Jesus  is  it  par- 
ticularly developed  (xiv-xvi).  **  He  shall 
give  you  another  Paraclete,  that  He  may 
be  with  you  for  ever,  even  the  Spirit 
of  truth.  But  the  Paraclete,  even  the 
Holy  Spirit  .  .  .  He  shall  teach  you 
all  things,"  etc.  This  Comforter,  Ad- 
vocate, Paraclete,  is  to  take  Jesus*  place; 


30  The  Holy  Spirit 

is  to  be  the  personal  helper  and  friend  of 
the  disciples  ;  is  to  be  the  superintendent 
of  the  work  which  Jesus  introduced  and 
founded ;  is  to  convince  the  world  of 
the  truth  of  the  claims  which  He  made, 
and  in  general  to  be  the  power  of  God 
in  developing  and  carrying  on  the  gracious 
work  which  Jesus  had  begun  in  the  world. 
It  is  just  at  this  point  that  the  teaching 
of  the  apostles  concerning  the  Holy  Spirit 
begins.  We  should  be  at  a  loss  to  ac- 
count for  the  advanced  truth  which  these 
men,  and  particularly  Paul,  utter  concern- 
ing the  loving,  tender  and  thoroughly  per- 
sonal aid  and  comfort  of  the  Spirit,  were 
it  not  for  these  precious  words  which 
the  apostle  John  records  for  us  in  his 
Gospel.  Do  we  need  any  explanation  of 
this  fact  ?  Is  it  not  plain  for  us  on  the 
face  of  the  Gospel  record  that  Jesus  was 
leading  these  men  step  by  step  as  they 
could  grasp  His  teaching  ?  He  was  teach- 
ing them  not  only  by  His  words,  but  by 
His  example    and  by    His  life.      That 


Distribution  of  Teaching     31 

teaching  could  not  be  finished  until  the  su- 
preme act  of  His  life  by  which  He  made 
all  the  rest  intelligible,  was  accomplished. 
The  prophets  had  joined  the  new  era 
of  the  Spirit  to  the  Messianic  age,  but 
according  to  their  custom  they  did  not, 
even  if  they  were  able,  distinguish  be- 
tween near  and  far.  The  Messianic  day 
for  them  was  the  day  of  the  regeneration 
of  the  world  through  the  Messiah.  But 
the  Messiah  came  in  the  course  of  his- 
tory. His  life  had  to  be  lived  among 
men.  His  teachings  about  the  Father 
must  go  forth.  The  wonderful  creden- 
tial which  His  miracles  furnished  had  to 
be  presented  to  the  world,  culminating 
in  the  stupendous  sign  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, before  the  world  was  ready  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The 
Spirit  was  intended  in  the  divine  economy 
and  according  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
to  carry  on  the  redemption  of  the  Father, 
but  He  could  only  do  so  when  redemp- 
tion was  accomplished. 


32  The  Holy  Spirit 

These  twelve  men  were  human,  faulty 
and  imperfect.  Their  minds  were  in- 
capable of  receiving  the  whole  teach- 
ing at  once.  It  was  necessary  therefore 
for  Jesus  to  lead  them  by  a  gradual  un- 
folding to  the  necessity  of  His  sacrifice 
before  He  could  show  them  how  that 
sacrifice  was  to  become  effectual  for  the 
sin  of  men  and  the  redemption  of  the 
world.  Consequently,  until  the  death 
of  Jesus  was  imminent  and  they  had  be- 
gun to  look  into  the  future  with  appre- 
hension in  view  of  their  impending  be- 
reavement, the  revelation  of  the  Spirit's 
nature  and  work  could  not  naturally  be 
made.  And  although  the  Synoptic  Gos- 
pels do  not  contain  the  discourses  in 
which  this  revelation  is  made,  yet  we  do 
find  in  their  record  of  words  of  Jesus 
which  were  uttered  after  that  teaching 
was  given  that  they  knew  of  it. 

In  short,  Jesus  in  Matthew  and  Luke 
and  the  Acts  assumes  the  previous  teach- 
ing in  John's  Gospel.     How  much  more 


Distribution  of  Teaching     33 

the  Great  Commission  means  to  us  when 
we  reflect  that  He  had  already  given  the 
promise  of  the  Paraclete  and  had  taught 
them  His  mission  in  the  scheme  of  re- 
demption !  How  much  more  it  means 
to  us  when  we  read  in  Luke  the 
promise  of  the  power  from  on  high, 
to  know  that  the  nature  of  that  power 
had  already  been  revealed  to  these  wait- 
ing men! 

The  New  Era  explains  the  Distribution  of 
the  Teaching 

The  New  Era  of  the  Spirit — that  was 
the  secret  of  the  progress  of  the  teaching 
of  the  Lord  about  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
Messianic  age  must  be  fully  inaugurated 
before  the  outpouring  which  had  been 
connected  with  it  in  the  promise  could 
be  effective.  "If  I  go  not  away  the 
Paraclete  will  not  come."  The  work 
which  the  Paraclete  is  sent  to  do  must  be 
ready  for  Him.  He  is  sent  to  make 
effective  the  sacrifice  of    Christ.       That 


34  The  Holy  Spirit 

sacrifice  must  therefore  have    been  ac- 
complished. 

The  three  years  of  Jesus'  ministry 
though  immensely  important  to  us  for 
the  glimpse  they  give  us  of  His  person, 
and  for  the  historical  record  they  afford 
of  the  manner  in  which  God  fulfilled  His 
promises  to  provide  a  salvation,  are  not 
after  all  the  greatest  years  in  the  history 
of  redemption.  They  were  necessary, 
for  without  them  the  further  history 
could  never  have  been  enacted.  But  the 
Messianic  age  as  an  age  of  salvation  ac- 
tually began  at  Pentecost  when  in  the 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  the  promise  of 
the  Father  began  to  be  realized.  The  his- 
tory of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  can 
never  therefore  be  fully  written  for  it  is 
yet  in  course  of  accomplishment. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Equipment  of  the  Messiah. 

rHERE  has  been  much  discussion 
of  recent  years  among  certain 
Biblical  critics  as  to  whether  Jesus 
actually  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  during 
the  first  part  of  His  ministry.  Some 
have  even  dared  to  doubt  that  He  posses- 
sed so  early  the  consciousness  that  He 
was  the  Messiah.  It  is  not  in  our  prov- 
ince to  attempt  to  answer  these  doubts 
but  in  speaking  of  the  equipment  of  the 
Messiah  for  His  work  we  immediately 
touch  upon  Scripture  which  ought  to  be 
conclusive  against  them.     At  Jesus'  first 


36  The  Holy  Spirit 

visit  to  Nazareth  after  His  public  ministry 
had  begun,  we  find  Him  participant  in  a 
scene  which  seems  conclusively  to  show 
that  He  was  not  only  thoroughly  con- 
scious that  He  was  the  long  promised 
One,  but  that  He  intended  others  to 
know  what  exalted  claims  He  was  mak- 
ing (Luke  iv.  18). 

Here  Jesus  appropriates  the  passage 
from  Isaiah  (Ixi.  1),  where  the  Servant 
of  Jehovah  is  in  the  first  place  the  sub- 
ject of  the  prophecy.  It  was  a  definite 
claim  that  He  was  about  to  fulfil  that 
which  had  originally  been  promised  of 
the  Servant.  Let  us  see  what  is  the  con- 
tent of  the  utterance  and  estimate  its 
value  for  our  purpose.  *'  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He  an- 
ointed me  to  preach  good  tidings  to 
the  poor ;  He  hath  sent  me  to  proclaim 
release  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of 
sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them 
that  are  bruised,  to  proclaim  the  accept- 
able year  of  the  Lord. "     The  quotation 


Equipment  of  the  Messiah    37 

is  essentially  the  same  as  the  passage  in 
Isaiah,  the  Septuagint  version  being  the 
source  of  the  Greek  words.  As  such  it  is 
Jesus'  own  testimony  to  the  authority 
of  His  mission.  He  deliberately  identifies 
Himself  in  words  which  were  originally 
spoken  by  the  prophet  in  the  person  of 
Jehovah's  ideal  servant  as  the  one  who 
should  bring  release  from  captivity  and  a 
return  to  the  restored  Jerusalem.  The 
joy  of  that  glad  time  is  compared  to  the 
joy  of  the  year  of  Jubilee  when  all  slaves 
were  set  free.  What  admirable  figures 
these  were  to  describe  the  work  of  Jesus 
as  Messiah  and  Redeemer  is  evident  to 
us  when  we  have  comprehended  the 
meaning  of  His  life  and  death.  That 
they  were  not  understood  by  those  who 
heard  them  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth 
is  not  strange  when  we  consider  the  false 
notions  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Mes- 
siah was  to  come  which  had  grown  up 
in  Israel.  For  the  attempt  to  kill  Him 
which  followed  His  address  we  must  at- 


38  The  Holy  Spirit 

tribute  rather  to  anger  at  the  refusal  to 
work  signs  in  their  midst  than  to  out- 
raged feelings  that  such  a  one  should 
claim  to  be  the  Messiah. 

But  the  main  point  in  the  claim  is  that 
the  Holy  Spirit,  or  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah, 
was  upon  Him.  It  was  through  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  that  He  expected  to 
fulfill  His  mission.  It  was  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  that  the  delivery  of  the  cap- 
tives was  to  be  accomplished,  and  that 
the  whole  of  the  Messianic  work  de- 
scribed with  so  much  of  tenderness  and 
sympathy  by  the  prophet  was  to  be  car- 
ried on.  It  is  a  significant  thing  for  our 
study  that  Jesus  in  coming  before  His 
own  people  among  whom  He  had  been 
brought  up  should  choose  just  this  pro- 
phetic passage  with  which  to  assume  and 
claim  His  place  in  the  plan  of  God.  No- 
tice the  words  by  which  that  assumption 
and  claim  are  made.  The  word  **  anoint- 
ed "  is  in  the  aorist  tense — the  tense  of 
definite  action  in  past  time.     As  if  He 


Equipment  of  the  Messiah    39 

would  say,  Once  for  all  in  the  past  I  was 
set  apart  by  the  anointing  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  for  my  definite  work.  The  word 
translated  "sent"  is  on  the  other  hand 
in  the  perfect  tense.  As  if  to  say,  He 
sent  me  and  here  I  am  on  His  mission. 

The  Baptism  of  Jesus 

What  was  this  definite  action  in  the 
past  to  which  Jesus  refers  and  by  which 
He  had  been  consecrated  for  His  wcrk  ? 
Luke  means  us  to  ask  the  question  and 
he  has  so  arranged  his  material  that  the 
answer  is  plain.  For  we  read  in  the  same 
chapter  the  story  of  the  Temptation  in 
which  **  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit "  Jesus 
was  "led  in  the  Spirit"  into  the  wilder- 
ness. Following  back  still  further  this 
reference  to  the  Spirit  we  find  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter  the  account  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Spirit  came  upon  Him  for 
His  mission.  In  other  words,  Luke  ap- 
parently reads  the  answer  to  the  question 
in  the  account  of  the  Baptism,  and  means 


40  The  Holy  Spirit 

us  to  do  the  same.  The  reference  of 
Jesus  to  the  anointing  of  the  Spirit  was 
to  His  baptism  when  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scended upon  Him  and  the  voice  came 
out  of  heaven,  "Thou  art  my  beloved 
Son;  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased."  Jesus 
nowhere  makes  direct  reference  to  His 
baptism  but  we  are  certainly  justified  in 
thinking  of  Him  as  here  sanctioning  the 
historical  account  of  the  descent  of  the 
Spirit  at  His  baptism. 

But  can  we  go  further  than  this  ? 

Luke  tells  us  not  only  of  the  operation 
of  the  Spirit  at  His  baptism  but  he  de- 
scribes in  a  most  circumstantial  way  the 
agency  of  the  Spirit  in  the  appearance  of 
Jesus  upon  earth.  To  him  the  prophe- 
cies of  the  relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the 
plan  of  God  for  redeeming  men  and  to 
the  Messianic  day  which  Luke  saw  dawn- 
ing for  the  world  meant  something,  and 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  ascribe  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  the  conception  of  Jesus  and 


Equipment  of  the  Messiah    41 

the  whole  course  of  the  supernatural  his- 
tory by  which  the  Son  of  the  virgin  was 
born  and  protected  during  His  infancy 
and  equipped  for  His  unique  work. 
The  supernatural  conception  was  never 
the  subject  of  Jesus'  own  teaching.  But 
the  author  of  this  Gospel  evidently  un- 
derstands Him  to  join  in  a  most  signifi- 
cant way  His  own  testimony  to  the 
Spirit's  agency  in  His  Messianic  work  to 
the  facts  which  the  evangelist  has  gathered 
from  other  sources  as  to  His  origin  and 
preparation  for  the  assumption  of  that 
work.  And  as  we  see  it  develop  and 
come  to  its  culmination  we  can  do  no 
other.  The  Spirit  of  God,  or  to  speak 
by  the  New  Testament  name,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  was  the  agent  who  made  possible 
the  work  that  Jesus  did. 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Spirit  and  the  Kingdom. 

/N  the  last  chapter  we  found  Jesus 
making  the  claim  that  He  was  the 
Messiah  and  asserting  that  He  had 
been  anointed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  for  His 
work.  We  find  now  a  passage  in  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew  in  which  this  asser- 
tion receives  a  still  further  emphasis. 
Matthew  does  not  record  the  scene  in 
Nazareth,  but  when  we  know  from 
Luke's  Gospel  that  it  had  taken  place 
we  gain  help  in  the  understanding  of  the 
passage  before  us.  '*  If  I  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  cast  out  demons,  then  is  the 
42 


spirit  and  the  Kingdom      43 

kingdom  of  God  come  upon  you " 
(Matt.  xii.  28).  Luke  has  the  same  pas- 
sage in  the  same  connection  but  substi- 
tutes the  phrase  "  finger  of  God  "  for  the 
*'  Spirit  of  God  "  (Luke  xi.  20).  This  is 
quite  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  which  prevailed  in  Old 
Testament  times  and  which  persisted  in 
the  time  of  Christ,  before  the  more  ex- 
plicit teaching  about  the  nature  of  the 
Spirit  was  given.  The  Spirit  of  God  was 
God  active  for  the  redemption  of  men — 
God  working.  Luke  simply  gives  us  an 
equivalent  for  the  term  *'  Spirit  of  God  " 
— one  which  brings  out  more  plainly  the 
activity  of  God.  The  Spirit  of  God  and 
the  finger  of  God  might  well  be  equiva- 
lent terms  in  this  case.  Matthew  on  the 
other  hand  consistently  set  forth  Jesus  as 
the  fulfillment  of  Old  Testament  proph- 
ecy and,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  a  com- 
monplace of  prophecy  to  connect  the 
Spirit  of  God  with  the  Messianic  time. 
To  suppose  that  Luke  has  here  the  orig- 


44  The  Holy  Spirit 

inal  phrase  and  Matthew  the  explanatory 
one  is  to  reverse  the  natural  order. 

The  Power  of  the  Spirit  a  Sign  of  the 
Kingdom 

This  was  the  occasion  when  after  the 
healing  of  a  demoniac  the  Pharisees 
charged  that  He  casts  out  demons  by  the 
power  of  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  the 
demons.  Jesus  shows  by  a  very  simple 
argument  that  this  could  not  be  the  case, 
and  then  makes  the  sublime  assertion 
that  His  dispossession  of  demons  is  the 
natural  effect  of  His  Messianic  power. 
The  Spirit  of  God  was  the  promised  ac- 
companiment of  the  Messianic  time  and 
the  power  by  which  the  Messiah  was  to 
do  His  work.  A  claim  of  casting  out 
demons  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  was 
equivalent  to  a  claim  to  be  the  Messiah. 
But  He  makes  it  even  clearer  than  this 
inference  would  be.  He  says.  The  Spirit 
as  you  all  know  and  believe  is  to  furnish 
the  power  and  energy  for  the  kingdom 


spirit  and  the  Kingdom      45 

of  God  which  God  has  promised  to  es- 
tablish. Now  when  I  by  the  Spirit  do 
these  wonderful  works  it  is  a  sign  that 
the  Kingdom  is  at  hand, — the  Kingdom 
of  God  is  come  upon  you. 

It  would  be  easy  to  show  from  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  about  the  Kingdom 
that  it  was  regarded  as  both  present  and 
future.  That  it  was  looked  upon  by 
Jesus  as  established  potentially  on  the 
earth  during  His  ministry  and  at  the  same 
time  that  it  was  to  be  gloriously  fulfilled 
in  the  future.  We  have  already  seen 
how  in  the  prophetic  writings  of  the  Old 
Testament  the  Spirit  was  to  be  the  en- 
ergizing power  of  the  Kingdom  (p.  9). 
Jesus  simply  emphasizes  this  promise. 
He  makes  the  claim  that  since  the  Spirit 
is  revealing  Himself  by  His  signs  it  is  an 
unfailing  indication  that  the  Kingdom  is 
at  hand.  It  was  a  claim  to  be  that  one 
who  was  anointed  by  the  Spirit  (at  bap- 
tism), who  had  been  conceived  by  the 
Spirit  (perhaps),  at  least  whose  whole  life 


46  The  Holy  Spirit 

according  to  the  historians  of  the  Gos- 
pels was  lived  by  means  of  the  Spirit  and 
in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit.  This  very 
working  of  Jesus  was  a  sign  of  the  Mes- 
siah's kingdom,  for  it  had  been  foretold 
that  the  Kingdom  would  be  accompanied 
by  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  and  that  the 
Messiah  would  be  endowed  with  the 
Spirit  in  an  especial  manner. 

Entrance  to  the  Kingdom 

If  we  turn  now  to  the  Gospel  of  John 
we  will  find  that  this  relation  is  still  further 
emphasized.  It  is  true  that  John  does 
not  attribute  the  phrase  **  Kingdom  of 
God,"  or  ''Kingdom  of  Heaven"  to 
Jesus  very  frequently.  He  uses  more 
often  equivalents  of  the  term.  But  in 
chapter  three  he  has  furnished  us  with 
the  key  to  his  variation.  Here  we  find 
the  assertion  to  Nicodemus  "Except  one 
be  born  anew,  he  cannot  see  the  King- 
dom of  God"  (iii.  3).  And  again,  "ex- 
cept one  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit, 


spirit  and  the  Kingdom      47 

he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God "  (iii.  5).  The  Kingdom  is  here 
the  chief  good  to  be  desired.  But  in  the 
further  development  of  the  thought  it  is 
not  the  Kingdom  but  eternal  life  which 
is  the  chief  good  for  men  (iii.  15,  16,  36). 
We  can  therefore  treat  these  two  terms 
as  equivalent  in  John's  Gospel.  We  have 
found  the  Kingdom's  progress  every- 
where marked  by  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  The  presence  of  the 
Kingdom  is  to  be  detected  by  the  signs 
of  the  Spirit's  presence.  From  the 
Synoptic  representation  we  should  be 
more  likely  to  think  of  the  Kingdom  as 
an  external  manifestation  in  the  world. 
But  we  here  receive  the  descriptive  idea 
that  the  Kingdom  is  in  progress  only  as 
men  are  born  again,  or  born  of  the  Spirit. 
Not  only  is  the  casting  out  of  demons  a 
sign  of  the  Kingdom  but  dispossession 
must  be  followed  by  possession  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  Nicodemus  is  represented 
as  being  blind  to  the  spiritual  realities  of 


48  The  Holy  Spirit 

life.  He  comes  to  Jesus  with  the  con- 
fession that  Jesus  is  some  heaven-sent 
teacher  because  of  the  miracles  which 
He  worked.  In  this  observation  Nico- 
demus  meant  more  than  the  words  imply 
and  Jesus,  as  His  frequent  custom  was, 
answered  the  thought  rather  than  the 
words.  Nicodemus  meant  that  like  other 
bearers  of  a  divine  commission  in  the 
past  Jesus  had  His  credentials.  Jesus 
answers  that  to  receive  the  real  benefit  of 
His  mission  one  needed  not  simply  eyes 
and  ears,  but  a  new  life,  a  new  creation 
through  supernatural  birth,  and  a  growth 
fostered  by  heavenly  impulses. 

The  rest  of  the  discourse  merely  en- 
forces upon  Nicodemus'  blindness  the 
same  truth  in  different  aspects.  No  man 
can  expect  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  Jesus'  mis- 
sion, that  is,  the  Kingdom,  or  eternal 
life,  who  is  earth-born.  Spiritual  goods 
require  spiritual  faculties  to  appropriate 
them.  This  supreme  spiritual  good  was 
to  come  to  men  through  being  born  of 


spirit  and  the  Kingdom      49 

water  and  of  the  Spirit.  Jesus  further 
explains  that  it  comes  through  faith. 
"  The  Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up  ; 
that  whosoever  believeth  may  in  Him 
have  eternal  Ufe.'*  Entrance  to  the 
Kingdom  therefore  is  obtained  by  the 
agency  of  the  Spirit.  It  comes  also 
through  faith.  Jesus  does  not  attempt 
the  harmony  of  these  two  statements. 
It  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to 
Him  that  there  was  need  of  adjustment. 
We  need  the  later  teaching  of  Jesus  and 
His  apostles  to  make  the  articulation  be- 
tween these  two  aspects  of  the  truth. 
What  we  are  concerned  with  here  is  the 
agency  of  the  Spirit  in  the  new  birth. 

"  Bom  of  Water  and  of  the  Spirit  " 

Jesus  says,  "  Except  a  man  be  born 
anew,"  or  ''from  above."  Which  of 
these  two  renderings  is  the  true  repro- 
duction of  our  Lord's  words  we  shall 
not  attempt  to  decide.  For  our  purpose 
it  is  of  little  importance.    For  it  is  abun- 


50  The  Holy  Spirit 

dantly  evident  that  the  source  of  that  new 
birth  is  heavenly.  The  agent  of  it  is  the 
Spirit  (John  iii.  5).  But  the  new  birth 
is  described  as  being  "  of  water  "  as  well 
as  **  of  the  Spirit."  The  preposition  here 
means  **  out  of  "  which  suggests  the  bap- 
tism **  in  water ' '  and  **  in  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  preach- 
ing of  John  the  Baptist  (Matt.  iii.  11). 
As  the  water  was  the  cleansing  agent 
of  the  body  so  the  Spirit  would  be  the 
cleansing  agent  of  the  soul. 

But  to  be  born  **  of  water  "  signified 
here  more  than  this.  Why  is  it  coupled 
with  the  Spirit  as  necessary  to  the  new 
birth  ?  Is  there  anything  more  intended 
than  that  the  new  birth  must  be  an 
awakening  of  the  spiritual  nature  ?  John 
the  Baptist  has  already  furnished  us  with 
the  answer  to  the  question.  He  has  con- 
trasted the  two  baptisms  in  a  way  to  call 
attention  to  their  essential  differences 
(Matt.  iii.  11 ;  John  i.  32,  33).  John's 
baptism  was  **  in  water."     It  was  also  a 


spirit  and  the  Kingdom      51 

baptism  **unto  repentance."  Water  is 
symbolical  of  cleansing,  washing  away  of 
sin,  putting  away  the  past.  The  baptism 
of  the  Spirit  is  "in  fire."  Fire  was  the 
symbol  by  which  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit  was  made  known  at  Pentecost.  It 
stood  for  the  energy,  the  fervor  and  the 
contagion  which  should  characterize  the 
disciples  of  the  Kingdom.  It  rested 
upon  every  disciple's  head.  This  was 
a  sign  that  the  new  ardor  would  spread 
from  disciple  to  disciple  until  the  glow 
of  the  new  life  should  have  filled  the 
world.  The  new  birth  must  then  con- 
tain the  two  elements.  It  must  wipe 
out  the  past  and  it  must  furnish  the  living 
principle  of  future  love  and  service. 

Jesus  is  not  here  referring  to  Christian 
baptism  but  He  is  emphasizing  the  same 
truths  which  were  afterward  embodied 
in  it.  No  man  enters  the  Kingdom  until 
he  has  been  cleansed  of  sin  and  the  holy 
principle  of  life  has  been  implanted 
within  him.     John  the   Baptist  was  the 


52  The  Holy  Spirit 

embodiment  of  the  Old  Testament. 
His  testimony  to  Christ  was  the  witness 
of  the  old  dispensation  to  the  new.  He 
was  the  forerunner,  the  crown  and  rep- 
resentative of  that  forerunning  revelation 
which  had  prepared  the  way  for  Christ 
all  through  the  history  of  the  people  of 
Israel.  His  baptism  was  an  Old  Testa- 
ment rite.  It  was  the  utmost  that  the 
Old  Testament  could  do  toward  the  new 
life.  It  could  preach  righteousness,  it 
could  advocate  cleansing,  it  could  demand 
repentance.  But  that  baptism  to  be  truly 
effectual  needed  the  new  principle  of 
life.  This  could  only  be  supplied 
through  the  work  of  Christ,  the  symbol 
of  which  was  the  Spirit's  fire.  John's 
baptism  was  not  unnecessary.  On  the 
contrary,  every  candidate  for  the  Kingdom 
must  experience  that  cleansing  which  was 
the  characteristic  of  John's  baptism.  But 
he  must  also  experience  that  which  was 
the  peculiar  feature  of  the  Christian  era. 
He  must  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit. 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Sin  Against  the  Holy  Spirit. 

/N  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Mark 
the  passage  about  the  unpardonable 
sin  follows  the  ascription  to  Jesus  of 
demonic  power  by  the  Pharisees  because 
He  cast  out  a  demon.  By  these  two 
evangelists  the  saying  is  placed  in  close 
connection  with  this  incident  and  is  evi- 
dently intended  by  them  to  describe 
Jesus'  further  words  on  the  same  occa- 
sion. Luke  has  the  former  passage  es- 
sentially as  it  is  given  by  the  other  two 
{cf.  Matt.  xii.  22-32  ;  Mark  iii.  19b-30 ; 
Luke  xi.  14-26),   but  the   passage  about 

53 


54  The  Holy  Spirit 

the  sin  against  the  Holy  Spirit  he  has  re- 
corded in  another  connection  (xii.  10). 
Luke's  habit  in  this  portion  of  his 
Gospel  is  topical,  and  he  has  here  col- 
lected a  number  of  sayings  of  Jesus 
which  will  be  helpful  when  persecution 
comes. 

"  Be  not  afraid  of  them  that  kill  the 
body.  .  .  Fear  him,  who  hath  power 
to  cast  into  hell."  Your  Father  careth 
for  you.  The  sparrows  are  not  forgotten 
and  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many 
sparrows.  Confession  of  Christ  will  be 
followed  by  His  confession  of  you.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  by  denying 
the  divinity  (asserting  the  demoniacal 
character)  of  Jesus'  work  and  mission  to 
offend  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  you  need 
not  fear  lest  you  will  do  this  unawares 
when  you  are  brought  before  councils, 
for  the  Holy  Spirit  will  Himself  help  you 
to  bear  a  good  testimony  and  will  even 
give  you  words  to  speak  in  the  hour  of 
trial. 


Sin  against  Holy  Spirit      55 
Matthew's  and  Mark's  Order  Chronological 

It  is  possible  that  this  saying  was  ut- 
tered twice  by  our  Lord.  But  if  not 
then  there  can  be  no  question  that  Mat- 
thew and  Mark  have  the  true  historical 
setting.  In  its  context  according  to  these 
Gospels  we  get  a  strong  light  on  the 
meaning  of  the  words.  It  has  long  been 
matter  for  controversy  what  the  saying  is 
intended  to  teach.  But  a  closer  study  of 
the  passage  in  its  connection  reveals  its 
true  meaning  and  delivers  us  at  the  same 
time  from  any  morbid  fear  lest  by  some 
means  or  at  some  time  unknown  to  us 
we  may  have  committed  the  sin. 

What  was  the  Unpardonable  Sin  ? 

Notice  that  the  sin  whatever  it  may  be, 
is  closely  connected  with  the  denial  of 
Jesus'  mission  as  the  Messiah.  These 
Pharisees  had  attributed  to  Him  demonic 
power  in  working  His  mira  les.  That 
is,  they  had  so  far  repudiated  God  their 


56  The  Holy  Spirit 

Father  in  His  great  redemptive  purpose 
as  to  blaspheme  His  Son.  A  more  awful 
example  of  ingratitude,  of  utter  abandon- 
ment can  hardly  be  imagined.  It  was 
railing  at  the  sovereignty  of  God.  It  was 
insulting  His  fatherhood.  It  was  con- 
temptuously disregarding  His  almighty 
purpose  to  save  men  from  sin  and  to  re- 
store them  to  His  favor.  It  was  a  slight 
upon  His  grace.  When  we  consider 
how  the  successive  acts  of  grace  and  love 
had  been  performed  by  God  for  this  peo- 
ple, and  how  all  in  succession  had  been  re- 
jected or  at  least  undervalued  and  forgot- 
ten by  them,  we  begin  to  see  how  wicked 
was  this  attitude  of  the  Pharisees.  This 
was  by  no  means  the  first  act  of  the  kind 
in  their  history.  It  was  rather  the  begin- 
ning of  the  crowning  act  of  ingratitude 
and  wicked  spite  by  which  they  rejected 
God  in  crucifying  His  Son.  It  was  in 
the  same  series  with  their  successive  re- 
jections of  God  under  the  old  covenant  to 
which  Jesus  Himself  later  refers  and   to 


Sin  against  Holy  Spirit      57 

which   Stephen   alludes   in    his   defence 
(Matt,  xxiii.  29-39 ;  Acts  vii.  51). 

Now  this  rejection  of  God  was  the  re- 
jection of  His  purpose  to  redeem  Israel. 
It  was  the  slighting  of  His  promises.  It 
was  disobedience  to  His  commands. 
But  these  commands  and  these  promises 
were  all  vitally  connected  with  the  King- 
dom of  God  and  the  Kingdom  was,  ac- 
cording to  the  prophets,  to  be  the  special 
care  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  Spirit 
was  still  the  agent  of  redemption  now 
that  the  personal  Redeemer  was  mani- 
fested. He  was  active  in  the  conception 
of  Jesus  ;  He  was  present  at  and  effect- 
ive at  His  baptism  ;  the  Spirit  led  Him 
into  the  wilderness  to  receive  His  repre- 
sentative trial  by  Satan  ;  and  the  Spirit 
was  the  power  by  which  He  was  enabled 
to  perform  His  gracious  acts  of  healing. 
To  reject  Jesus  therefore,  to  repudiate 
utterly  and  irrevocably  the  purpose  of 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,  was  to  insult  and 
blaspheme  the  Holy  Spirit. 


58  The  Holy  Spirit 

Jesus  does  not  say  that  these  Pharisees 
had  committed  the  great  sin,  but  He 
certainly  intimates  that  they  were  in 
danger  of  it.  We  know  indeed  that 
they  had  many  other  invitations  to  accept 
Jesus,  and  that  even  on  the  cross  He 
prayed  for  their  forgiveness,  implying 
that  by  repentance  they  might  be  saved. 
The  apostles  after  the  resurrection 
preached  to  the  Jews, — perhaps  even  to 
some  who  had  been  active  in  the  cruci- 
fixion, and  besought  them  to  repent. 
So  that  we  can  see  that  no  isolated  act  on 
the  part  of  these  men  could  be  construed 
as  the  sin  against  the  Spirit. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  consistent  at- 
titude of  opposition  against  God  which 
these  men — this  nation — had  manifested 
revealed  a  disposition  which  must  at  this 
time  have  become  fixed.  An  omniscient 
mind  could  therefore  read  the  inevitable 
end  of  their  opposition  and  characterize 
their  attitude  as  the  sin  against  the  Spirit 
even  though  that  sin  was  not  yet  made 


Sm  against  Holy  Spirit      59 

complete.  In  fact  from  man's  point  of 
view  their  sin  was  not  yet  inevitable.  But 
the  Son  of  God  knew  that  this  blasphemy 
was  part  of  that  final  act  by  which  they 
would  refuse  the  offer  of  mercy  of  their 
Father  and  insult  their  covenant  God. 
He  therefore  characterizes  it  as  the  sin 
against  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  Spirit  had 
been  the  promised  accompaniment  of 
that  offer  of  mercy  in  its  historic  mani- 
festation— had  been  indeed  the  agent  of 
God  in  its  preparation  and  actual  appear- 
ance. 

Can  we  commit  the  Unpardonable  Sin  ? 

When  we  come  to  translate  this  lan- 
guage of  our  Lord  into  the  religious  life 
of  to-day  and  ask,  What  is  the  sin  against 
the  Holy  Spirit  ?  we  have  accordingly  no 
other  answer  than  this.  It  is  the  persis- 
tent and  irrevocable  rejection  of  the  offer 
of  mercy  in  Christ.  The  Spirit  is  re- 
vealed as  especially  concerned  with  the 
redemption  of  men.     In  promise  and  in 


6o  The  Holy  Spirit 

fact  God  by  His  Spirit  set  out  to  save 
men.  Jesus  Christ  was  the  special  object 
of  the  Spirit's  activity  on  earth  and  after 
His  ascension  according  to  His  own 
words  it  is  the  office  of  the  Spirit  to  re- 
veal Him  and  to  apply  His  gracious  work 
to  the  hearts  of  men. 

To  reject  Christ  therefore  is  to  repu- 
diate God's  Spirit.  To  persist  in  that  re- 
jection until  that  subtle  line  has  been 
crossed  beyond  which  character  is  set  for 
good  or  bad,  is  to  commit  the  blasphemy 
for  which  there  is  no  forgiveness.  The 
apparent  contrast  between  the  sin  against 
the  Spirit  and  sin  against  the  Son  of  man 
must  have  reference  to  the  appearance 
of  Jesus  in  the  form  of  a  man.  So  long 
as  men  had  not  refused  finally  the  salva- 
tion which  God  by  His  Spirit  had  pre- 
pared they  were  in  the  line  of  forgive- 
ness. A  sin  against  Jesus  as  Son  of  man, 
as  a  prophet,  as  the  worker  of  miracles, 
could  be  forgiven,  for  they  were  not  yet 
conscious  that  the  power  by  which  He 


Sin  against  Holy  Spirit      6i 

worked  was  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  now 
they  had  been  warned  that  Jesus  was  the 
embodiment  of  God's  redemptive  pur- 
pose. They  had  been  expressly  told  that 
His  miracle  working  was  the  evidence  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  He  was  now  for 
them  identified  with  the  promised  King- 
dom in  which  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
was  to  be  supreme.  Sin  against  that 
Spirit  was  unpardonable  because  it  in- 
volved so  much.  Separation  from  God 
must  follow  the  final  refusal  to  enter  His 
Kingdom  and  presence. 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Father  s  Chief  Gift. 

/N  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Luke's 
Gospel  (v.  13)  we  find  a  saying  of 
Jesus  which  is  particularly  illumina- 
ting for  our  study  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how 
much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask 
Him." 

This  saying  closes  a  section  in  which 

Luke    gathers    together    some    of    our 

Lord's     teaching    about    prayer.      The 

disciples  come  to  Him  and  ask  Him  to 

62 


The  Father  s  Chief  Gift     63 

teach  them  to  pray.  He  responds  by 
giving  them  the  model  which  we  call 
the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  author  is  then 
led  by  the  likeness  of  subject  to  narrate 
further  teaching  of  Jesus  about  prayer. 
He  records  a  parable  which  is  found 
nowhere  else,  in  which  persistence  in 
prayer  is  taught — the  parable  of  the 
Friend  in  Bed.  **  I  say  unto  you,  .  .  . 
because  of  his  importunity  he  will  arise 
and  give  him  as  many  as  he  needeth." 
Then  follows  the  manifest  teaching  of 
the  parable.  **  Ask  ,  .  .  seek  .  .  . 
knock."  Be  importunate  in  your  prayers. 
God  would  have  you  reveal  your  sincer- 
ity by  your  persistence.  After  this  we 
have  a  third  saying  of  Jesus  on  the  same 
subject.  One  which  teaches  the  disposi- 
tion of  our  Father  to  answer  prayer  shown 
from  His  Fatherhood.  This  is  the  pas- 
sage in  question. 

The  Promise  in  Matthew 
Matthew  has  the  passage  almost  ver- 


64  The  Holy  Spirit 

batim  from  the  words  *'  Ask,  .  .  . 
seek,  .  .  .  knock  .  .  ."  An  im- 
portant change,  however,  is  that  he  sub- 
stitutes "good  things"  for  "Holy 
Spirit,"  reading,  *'  how  much  more  shall 
your  Father  who  is  in  heaven  give  good 
things  to  them  that  ask  Him "  (Matt, 
vii.  7-11). 

The  Two  Promises  Identical 

At  first  sight  these  good  things  seem 
to  be  material  goods,  and  if  this  were  the 
case  we  should  discover  a  lack  of  har- 
mony between  the  two  passages  which 
we  should  find  it  difficult  to  resolve.  But 
on  closer  examination  it  will  be  seen  that 
Jesus  in  Matthew  also  is  teaching  the 
willingness  of  the  Father  to  care  for  the 
spiritual  good  of  His  children,  so  that  the 
passage  becomes  identical  with  Luke's 
version.  We  should  remember  that 
Matthew's  record  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  is  to  some  extent  topical,  part  of 
the  sixth  and  much  of  the  seventh  chap- 


The  Father  s  Chief  Gift     65 

ters  being  arranged  under  the  heading  of 
the  Sermon,  because  they,  like  it,  were 
characteristic  of  the  kind  of  teaching 
which  He  gave  during  the  Galilean  min- 
istry. The  account  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 
in  Matthew  belongs  to  this  class  of  say- 
ings. There  is  of  course  no  reason  for 
thinking  that  Luke's  occasion  for  the 
Prayer  is  more  chronological  than  Mat- 
thew's. His  arrangement  is  topical  also, 
but  the  occasion  itself  is  more  probably 
the  true  occasion  than  is  Matthew's.  He 
collects  sayings  about  prayer  which  are 
bound  together  by  that  common  thought 
and  so  much  more  likely  to  have  been 
spoken  in  the  same  circumstances.  So 
taken  we  may  use  some  of  Luke 's  sayings 
to  interpret  the  others.  Making  use  of 
this  method  we  find  that  the  subjects  of 
the  prayers  have  not  been  predominantly 
material  but  spiritual.  Jesus  has  to  be 
sure  bidden  them  pray  for  daily  bread. 
But  He  has  also  charged  them  to  plead 
for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  (which 


66  The  Holy  Spirit 

we  have  seen  was  to  be  specially  marked 
by  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit). 
They  are  to  ask  also  for  forgiveness  of 
sins — the  victory  of  the  will  of  God  on 
earth — all  spiritual  gifts.  This  is  no  less 
true  in  Matthew's  Gospel  than  in  Luke's. 
Indeed  in  a  later  verse  in  the  sixth  chap- 
ter (v.  33)  Jesus  has  named  the  chief  ob- 
jects of  seeking  for  a  child  of  God.  **  Seek 
ye  first  His  Kingdom  and  His  righteous- 
ness." When  therefore  in  the  seventh 
chapter  Matthew  records  the  words  of 
Jesus  *'  seek  and  ye  shall  find,"  we  in- 
evitably conclude  that  the  Lord  is  still 
referring  to  the  Kingdom,  and  means — 
seek  the  Kingdom  and  ye  shall  find  it. 

In  later  teaching  He  still  further  de- 
velops this  thought  and  represents  the 
Kingdom  as  the  chief  object  worth  striv- 
ing for.  He  devotes  two  parables  to  the 
enforcement  of  this  idea,  The  Hidden 
Treasure  and  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price. 
So  that  we  may  fairly  say  that  He  is  still 
speaking   of   the    spiritual    life — of    the 


The  Father's  Chief  Gift      67 

Kingdom.  Still  further,  when  He  says 
"  Knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto 
you,"  he  means,  Knock  at  the  door  of 
the  Kingdom  and  it  will  not  remain  closed 
against  you.  So  that  the  words  in  Mat- 
thew though  they  are  probably  divorced 
from  their  connection  may  be  seen  after 
all  to  refer  to  spiritual  things  no  less  than 
in  Luke.  When  Jesus  promises  in  Mat- 
thew **  good  things  "  it  is  the  same  prom- 
ise as  when  in  Luke  He  promises  the 
"Holy  Spirit."  The  saying  in  both 
places  is  relevant  to  the  willingness  of  the 
Father  to  bestow  spiritual  gifts.  The 
Kingdom  is  the  realm  of  the  Spirit's 
activity.  When  one  evangelist  reports 
Jesus  as  saying  that  the  Father  will  give 
the  goods  things  of  the  Kingdom  to  them 
that  ask  Him,  and  the  other  records  that 
it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  that  was  promised, 
we  need  not  go  far  for  an  explanation. 
One  simply  gives  Jesus'  exact  phrase  and 
the  other  interprets  it  for  us.  In  both 
the  teaching  is  the  same. 


68  The  Holy  Spirit 

The  Meaning  of  the  Promise 

What  then  does  Jesus  mean  to  say? 
Just  this.  You  who  are  parents  do  not 
mock  at  the  natural  requests  of  your 
children  for  food.  It  is  indispensable  to 
their  life.  Shall  then  your  heavenly 
Father  mock  at  your  pleadings  for  that 
which  is  equally  necessary  for  your  spirit- 
ual life  ?  The  Holy  Spirit  represents  in 
the  parallelism — food — the  sustenance  of 
the  body.  Jesus  therefore  teaches  the 
necessity  of  the  Spirit  for  that  life  which 
is  life  indeed.  The  Father  is  its  source 
and  He  is  disposed  to  give  it  to  those 
who  show  willingness  to  receive.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  "  good  thing  "  which 
embraces  every  other  good  thing.  It  is 
the  foundation  of  our  relation  to  God  as 
Father.  As  food  is  the  first  thing  and 
the  indispensable  thing  which  we  give  to 
our  children,  so  this  chief  gift  the  Father 
will  not  withhold  if  we  ask  Him. 

Here  is  not  simply  the  Old  Testament 


The  Father  s  Chief  Gift      69 

idea  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  the  neces- 
sary equipment  for  God's  service.  It  is 
an  advance  upon  that  idea.  The  Spirit 
is  not  here  the  uniform  of  the  messenger  ; 
it  is  the  very  means  of  his  Hfe.  How 
this  is  to  be  is  not  yet  explained.  The 
full  doctrine  of  sanctiiication  is  not  yet 
revealed.  It  would  therefore  not  be 
fitting  to  detail  the  Spirit's  agency  in  that 
spiritual  process.  But  we  have  certainly 
a  hint  of  what  Jesus  was  afterward  to 
teach  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  which 
the  apostle  Paul  was  still  further  to  de- 
velop in  his  epistles. 


CHAPTER   VII 

The  Promise  of  the  Paraclete :  His 
Mission  to  the  Twelve. 

rHERE  is  a  passage  in  the  Synop- 
tic Gospels  which  may  well  serve 
to  introduce  this  subject  though 
it  is  not  expressly  concerned  with  the 
Paraclete.  It  is  recorded  by  the  three 
evangelists  in  three  different  connections. 
Matthew  presents  it  in  the  original  charge 
to  the  twelve  (x.  20).  Mark  includes  it 
in  the  discourse  of  Jesus  on  the  Last 
Things  (xiii.  11).  While  Luke  as  we 
have  already  noticed  collects  it  with 
the  others  which  are  apparently  intended 
70 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        71 

to  represent  our  Lord's  teaching  about 
behavior  under  persecution  (xii.  12). 
Luke's  use  of  the  passage  has  therefore 
no  bearing  upon  its  chronological  rela- 
tions. It  is  uncertain  whether  Matthew 
or  Mark  has  the  historical  connection  of 
the  passage.  Matthew  is  frequently  topi- 
cal in  this  part  of  his  book.  He  pre- 
sents his  material  according  to  its  subject 
rather  than  with  reference  to  its  histori- 
cal relations.  This  leaves  us  with  a  preju- 
dice in  favor  of  Mark's  order  and  yet 
as  has  been  remarked  by  competent  crit- 
ics there  is  no  reason  why  such  a  saying 
as  this  may  not  have  been  uttered  twice 
by  our  Lord.  It  would  be  equally  ap- 
plicable to  the  situation  in  Matthew  and 
Mark.  In  the  former  Gospel  the  occa- 
sion of  its  utterance  was  the  first  mission 
of  the  twelve,  in  the  latter  it  forms  part 
of  the  final  charge  to  the  same  men. 

The  Promise  of  the  Paraclete  Anticipated 
Assuming   then  that  whether  or  not 


72  The  Holy  Spirit 

they  were  spoken  at  any  other  time,  they 
were  at  least  part  of  the  instructions  given 
to  the  twelve  ;  in  view  of  the  impending 
departure  of  Jesus  they  form  a  very  in- 
teresting introduction  to  the  Johannine 
teaching.  When  the  apostles  are  brought 
before  magistrates  they  are  not  to  be  anx- 
ious about  the  witness  which  they  shall 
bear  to  Christ.  They  are  not  to  fear  lest 
on  the  one  hand  they  shall  unworthily 
represent  their  Master,  or  on  the  other 
lest  they  shall  needlessly  bring  their  lives 
into  jeopardy.  It  shall  be  given  them  in 
that  hour  what  they  shall  say.  **  For  it  is 
not  ye  that  speak  but  the  Holy  Spirit." 
The  Spirit  is  to  say  for  them  just  the 
things  which  will  worthily  represent  them 
before  the  rulers  as  followers  of  Jesus  and 
yet  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  not  be 
rashly  exposing  their  lives  to  danger. 
They  are  to  refrain  from  worry  and  anx- 
iety. Their  Advocate  is  a  mighty  one 
who  has  their  case  upon  His  heart.  As 
such  the  passage  is  a  remarkable  fore- 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        73 

gleam  of  that  other  teaching  which  was 
so  soon  to  follow,  according  to  John's 
record,  when  after  supper  He  began, 
**  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled."  He 
was  to  leave  them.  They  were  to  be 
left  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  persecution 
without  the  comfort  of  His  bodily  pres- 
ence, but  the  Paraclete  from  the  Father, 
the  Advocate,  the  Comforter,  would  be 
in  them  and  would  speak  for  them. 

The  New  Teaching 

But  this  precious  doctrine  was  to  re- 
ceive a  much  more  definite  and  express 
emphasis  and  its  truth  was  to  be  made 
more  reasonable  in  the  teaching  about 
the  nature  and  work  of  the  Spirit  which 
was  now  to  follow. 

The  four  chapters  of  John's  Gospel 
beginning  with  xiv.  1  contain  very  many 
precious  thoughts  and  have  become  most 
naturally  the  inner  sanctuary  of  t^ie 
Christian's  Bible.  But  for  no  part  of 
their  teaching  are  we  more  indebted  to 


74  The  Holy  Spirit 

our  Lord  than  for  the  very  wonderful 
words  which  describe  to  us  the  mission 
of  the  Paraclete. 

Meaning  of  Paraclete 

The  word  paracletos  {TrapdK\r]To<;)  so 
frequently  used  in  these  chapters  needs 
perhaps  a  word  or  two  of  comment. 
Neither  the  translation  **  comforter  "  in 
John's  Gospel,  nor  ''advocate"  in  the 
First  Epistle  (ii.  1)  expresses  the  full 
content  of  the  Greek  word.  The  verb 
from  which  the  noun  here  used  is  de- 
rived means  not  only  to  comfort,  but  in 
the  first  place,  to  call  to  one's  side  for 
aid.  It  then  means  to  speak  to,  to  ad- 
dress, to  call  on ;  and  then  as  modifica- 
tions of  this  general  idea,  it  may  mean  to 
admonish,  or  to  exhort,  or  to  beseech,  or 
to  comfort,  or  even  to  teach.  The  noun 
paracletos  therefore  may  be  used  with 
any  or  all  of  these  ideas  clinging  to  it.  A 
paracletos  may  be  a  helper  before  a  judge, 
technically  an  advocate ;  or  an  interces- 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        75 

sor  in  any  sense,  formal  or  informal ;  or 
simply  a  helper  or  assistant.  It  is  a  preg- 
nant word  for  which  we  have  no  ade- 
quate equivalent  in  English.  The  Ger- 
man word  ''  Beistand  "  or  our  colloquial 
term  **  standby  "  comes  near  to  giving 
the  sense  of  the  expression. 

We  are  not  however  at  a  loss  to  inter- 
pret the  meaning  of  our  Lord  even 
though  we  have  no  adequate  word  to 
reproduce  it.  The  thought  of  the  situa- 
tion in  which  these  men  stood  will  help 
us  to  realize  what  were  the  various  ideas 
which  the  word  was  intended  to  convey 
to  their  minds.  "  Comforter  "  is  no 
doubt  the  first  sense  which  the  expres- 
sion was  intended  to  bear.  Jesus  began — 
**  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled."  He 
Himself  was  to  be  taken  away  but  they 
were  to  be  comforted  with  the  promise 
of  the  Spirit  who  would  take  His  place, 
to  do  for  them  that  which  even  He  had 
been  unable  to  do.  They  feared  for  the 
future.     They  were  oppressed  by   their 


76  The  Holy  Spirit 

great  responsibilities,  but  Jesus  promised 
them  the  Spirit  to  be  their  guide  and 
teacher.  They  had  been  entrusted  with 
the  interests  of  the  Kingdom  but  He 
who  was  the  Kingdom's  special  sponsor 
and  superintendent  would  be  to  them 
not  only  a  personal  friend  and  helper  but 
also  continue  to  fulfill  His  historic  mis- 
sion with  respect  to  the  Kingdom.  As 
representatives  of  the  faith  that  was  to 
transform  the  world  into  the  paradise  of 
God,  they  stood  in  a  new  and  responsible 
position  toward  that  world  now  lying  in 
wickedness.  But  they  were  now  taught 
that  He  would  convince  the  world  with 
respect  to  sin  and  righteousness  and  judg- 
ment. With  Him  was  the  power  and 
they  were  to  be  the  instruments  in  His 
hands. 

So  much  and  more  we  may  believe  lay 
enwrapped  for  these  men  in  this  wonder- 
ful word  Pat'acletos.  And  for  us  there 
is  no  other  way  of  interpretation.  We 
are  to  read  the  meaning  of  the  word  in 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        77 

the  revelations  of  the  nature  and  mission 
of  the  Spirit  as  given  to  us  in  these  chap- 
ters. Our  happiness  and  usefulness  as 
Christians  will  depend  upon  how  fully 
we  understand  and  appreciate  our  possi- 
bilities as  instruments  of  this  same  Spirit. 

The  New  Era 

For  we  must  remember  that  Jesus  was 
now  announcing  the  advent  of  that  new 
reign  of  the  Spirit  which  the  prophets 
had  long  ago  foretold  as  the  sure  accom- 
paniment of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom. 
That  Kingdom  had,  to  be  sure,  been 
already  inaugurated,  but  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  in  His  earthly  life  was  in  a  very 
real  sense  preliminary  to  the  work  of 
saving  the  world  by  means  of  His  life 
and  death,  and  this  could  only  be  ac- 
complished after  He  had  arisen  and  gone 
to  His  Father.  He  said  to  His  disciples, 
**  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away ; 
for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Paraclete  will 
not  come  unto  you  "  (Johnxvi.  7).     The 


yS  The  Holy  Spirit 

manner  of  His  going  was  the  secret  of 
the  meaning  of  this  sentence.  His  de- 
parture was  through  suffering  and  death 
and  the  Spirit  was  given  for  the  purpose 
of  making  that  sacrificial  work  effective 
in  the  hearts  of  men.  The  Spirit  could 
not  come  until  all  was  ready.  Now  how- 
ever we  see  Him  on  the  verge  of  His 
trial  and  before  He  goes  He  must  tell 
the  disciples  the  meaning  of  His  death 
and  His  provision  that  it  should  not  be 
in  vain.  The  plan  of  God  for  us  men 
and  our  salvation  embraced  three  stages  : 
First,  the  era  of  preparation,  which  is 
described  in  the  Old  Testament.  Second, 
the  era  of  realization,  which  includes  the 
earthly  life  of  our  Lord,  His  death,  res- 
urrection and  ascension.  Third,  the  era 
of  application,  which  embraces  the  story 
of  the  conquest  of  the  world  by  Chris- 
tianity from  Pentecost  on.  In  the  first 
was  the  promise  of  the  salvation,  in  the 
second  the  fact  of  salvation,  and  in.  the 
third  is  the  gradual  appropriation  of  the 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        79 

fact.  The  first  was  the  Father's  day  in 
which  He  was  the  one  revealed  person 
of  the  Godhead  ;  the  second  was  the  day 
of  the  Son  of  God ;  the  third  is  the  day 
of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

We  find  our  Lord  therefore  at  the 
close  of  His  brief  time  making  prepara- 
tions for  the  dawn  of  a  new  day,  when 
all  the  promises  of  God  were  to  be  ful- 
fiUed. 

The  Promise  for  Personal  Comfort 

It  is  a  sign  of  the  close  human  friend- 
ship of  Jesus  for  these  men — a  token  of 
the  reality  of  His  humanity  that  there  was 
a  personal  message  in  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit  for  these  twelve  disciples,  or  rather 
for  the  eleven,  for  if  Judas  heard  any  of 
the  promises  they  must  have  fallen  on 
deaf  ears.  The  first  word  about  the 
Paraclete  was  uttered  to  relieve  their  very 
natural  despair  at  the  thought  of  His  de- 
parture from  them.  They  had  companied 
with    Him  for   two    years.      They  had 


8o  The  Holy  Spirit 

come  to  depend  upon  Him  and  to  trust 
and  love  Him.  He  was  the  head  of  the 
movement  and  at  the  thought  of  His 
separation  from  them  very  natural  feel- 
ings of  grief  and  loss  and  bewilderment 
possessed  them.  Jesus  did  not  rebuke 
this  attitude.  He  understood  it  and  felt 
that  the  time  had  come  to  assuage  their 
grief  by  the  revelation  of  the  necessity  of 
His  departure.  Not  that  they  would  or 
did  fully  comprehend  it,  but  now  hence- 
forth they  would  have  the  means  of  com- 
fort or  at  least  of  explanation  when  they 
should  be  brought  into  the  position  of 
witnesses  for  Him  to  the  people.  And 
so  He  says  to  them,  ''  Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled  :  believe  in  God."  Do  not 
fear  that  He  who  has  already  fulfilled 
His  promises  to  His  people  will  fail  at 
this  point  of  critical  significance.  Our 
relations  which  have  been  so  sweet  and 
intimate  will  not  be  disturbed  by  my 
going  but  rather  they  will  assume  an 
even  more  tender  and  intimate  character. 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        8i 

And  if  you  are  in  despair  because  the 
works  which  seem  to  you  so  important 
will  stop — let  not  this  affect  your  faith ; 
for  if  you  maintain  this  relation  of  faith 
in  me,  fully  trusting  in  what  I  have  been 
and  am  to  you,  **  greater  works  than  these 
shall  ye  do,  because  I  go  unto  the  Father," 
and  the  new  era  of  the  Spirit's  power 
will  have  been  inaugurated.  ""  And  I 
will  pray  the  Father  and  He  will  give  you 
another  Paraclete."  As  I  have  been 
with  you  during  these  years,  these  two 
precious  years,  teaching,  correcting  and 
comforting  you  and  revealing  the  will  of 
the  Father  unto  you,  so  this  new  and 
other  Paraclete  will  do  for  you  after  I  am 
gone. 

It  was  a  promise  of  a  real  substitute, 
not  a  temporary  makeshift,  but  a  real 
compensation  for  the  losses  which  they 
were  to  sustain.  So  He  bids  them  not 
even  to  mourn  when  they  considered  the 
nature  of  the  provision  which  the  Father 
was  to  make  for  them.     The   promise 


82  The  Holy  Spirit 

must  be  taken  at  its  face  value.  It  was 
no  attempt  of  Jesus  to  lessen  the  force 
of  a  personal  loss  by  pointing  out  unreal 
partial  compensations.  The  Paraclete 
was  to  undertake  no  tentative  work. 
Their  heart  was  not  even  to  be  troubled, 
for  did  they  but  know  it  the  substitute 
would  be  to  them  as  real  a  Paraclete  as 
He  Himself  had  been. 

//  was  also  a  Promise  to  the  Heralds  of  the 
Kingdom 

But  we  must  not  lose  the  force  of  this 
promise  by  making  it  altogether  or  even 
chiefly  a  personal  one.  Jesus  did  have 
compassion  on  their  human  weakness  and 
did  cheer  their  human  grief  but  they 
must  presently  have  divined  more  than  a 
personal  message  of  comfort  in  His 
words.  His  teaching  about  the  King- 
dom and  their  relation  to  it  had  been  too 
explicit  for  them  not  to  realize  that  they 
were  soon  to  have  enormous  responsibili- 
ties upon  their  shoulders.      The  King- 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        83 

dom  coming  and  the  King  departing! 
The  Messianic  reign  to  commence  and 
the  Messiah  dead  and  gone  !  How  can 
we  estimate  the  effect  of  the  scene  at 
Cassarea  Philippi  (Matt.  xvi.  15  ff.)  with- 
out imagining  some  such  thoughts  as 
these  in  their  hearts.  Surely  part  of  the 
burden  that  oppressed  them  was  due  to 
perplexity  amounting  almost  to  despair 
for  those  new  true  principles  whose  force 
as  taught  and  lived  by  Him  had  begun 
to  dawn  upon  them.  Apart  from  Him 
how  could  they  win  their  appropriate 
victory  over  the  world  ? 

Jesus  answers  this  unspoken  but  inevi- 
table apprehension.  **  I  will  not  leave 
you  orphans  :  I  come  unto  you."  I  will 
be  with  you  as  truly  after  my  bodily  de- 
parture as  when  you  could  see  and  touch 
me.  Through  the  Spirit  you  will  have 
me  with  you  and  will  be  able  to  com- 
municate with  me  as  truly  as  you  do  now. 
**  We  will  come  unto  him  and  make  our 
abode  with  him "  (the  man  who  loves 


84  The  Holy  Spirit 

Christ  and  keeps  His  word).  In  other 
words,  Jesus  promises  His  presence  with 
true  disciples  after  His  bodily  separation 
just  as  truly  as  before.  The  communion 
will  however  not  be  by  means  of  sense 
but  through  the  Spirit. 

Still  further  notice  the  second  clause 
of  this  verse  :  (16)  *'  He  will  abide  with 
you  forever."  Here  was  another  ground 
of  superiority  of  the  new  relation  over 
the  old.  The  old  bodily  intercourse  was 
limited  to  times  and  seasons.  At  the 
most  it  must  be  bounded  by  the  ordi- 
nary limits  of  human  life.  But  the  other 
Paraclete  was  to  abide  forever.  Jesus 
would  come  to  them  through  the  Spirit 
and  His  coming  thus  would  be  for  al- 
ways. No  more  separations  would  dis- 
turb them.  There  is  also  here  a  sign  of 
the  world  mission  of  the  disciples.  This 
was  spoken  to  these  men  as  representa- 
tive of  their  class.  They  would  pass 
away  but  other  disciples  would  take  their 
places.     Disciples  as  such   there   would 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        85 

always  be  and  their  support — their  Para- 
clete— would  be  this  other  one  as  Jesus 
had  been  the  Paraclete  of  the  first  disci- 
ples. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Truth 

One  other  aspect  of  the  promise  to 
these  chosen  friends  and  helpers  of  the 
Lord  must  be  noticed.  This  other  Para- 
clete was  the  Spirit  of  the  truth.  It  is 
no  doubt  true  that  the  individual  Chris- 
tian may  claim  this  promise  for  himself. 
So  also  he  may  expect  to  be  taught  by 
the  Spirit  and  to  have  his  memory  quick- 
ened as  to  the  life  of  Jesus  and  its 
reference  to  his  own  salvation  just  as 
truly  as  these  first  disciples  of  our  Lord 
(xiv.  26). 

But  there  is  surely  a  special  reference 
of  these  words  to  the  apostolic  circle. 
For  they  were  the  first  representatives  of 
the  truth  whom  the  Father  was  to  send 
out  into  the  world.  It  was  they  who 
needed  most  the  comfort  of  this  promise 


86  The  Holy  Spirit 

that  when  He  who  was  the  truth  incar- 
nate should  be  withdrawn,  truth  would 
still  prevail  in  their  hearts  and  in  the 
world ;  and  that  when  He  who  had 
taught  them  all  they  knew  of  spiritual 
things  should  be  separated  from  them 
their  education  would  not  cease  but 
would  go  on  until  they  should  know  all 
things  and  in  the  presence  of  their  glori- 
fied Lord  receive  His  ''  Well  done." 

We  must  seek  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase  in  the  customary  usage  of  the 
apostolic  writers.  John  who  here  records 
the  word  **  truth  "  uses  it  almost  invari- 
ably in  its  absolute  sense.  It  is  truth,  not 
as  opposed  to  falsehood ;  not  as  equiva- 
lent to  the  credibility  of  a  fact  or  series 
of  facts  ;  not  truth  as  sincerity  as  of  a  man, 
for  example  ;  but  truth  as  embodying  the 
highest  realities  that  man  can  grasp  ;  the 
nature  and  character  of  God,  the  duty 
and  destiny  of  man  and  the  relation  of 
God  to  man.  That  is,  the  truth  is  the 
essence  of  the  Gospel,     ifif.  Gal.  ii.  5. 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        87 

"  The  truth  of  the  Gospel  "  means  the 
truth  which  is  the  Gospel.)     The  Spirit 
of  the  truth  then  is  the  Spirit  whose  func- 
tion in  the  divine  economy  is  to  superin- 
tend and  to  guide  the  action  of  the  truth  ; 
who  is  the  truth's  agent  because   He  is 
the  truth's  essence.      If  Jesus  were  the 
truth  incarnate,  the  Spirit  was  the  same 
truth  in  disembodied  form.     As  God's 
Son  Jesus   had  revealed    the    truth ;    as 
spiritual  agent  of  the    same    truth    the 
Paraclete  was  to  come  to  men.     It  is  on 
account  of  this  spiritual  quality  that  the 
world  cannot  receive  Him  (xiv.  17),  as  it 
was  on  account  of  the  same   quality  in 
Jesus'  claims  and  person  that  the  world 
as  such  did  not  receive  Him.     It  was  a 
spiritual  work  that  Jesus  came    to    do, 
that  is,  the  Gospel  is  the  satisfaction  of 
spiritual  needs  and  the  world  is  material 
and  so  cannot    feel  those  needs  as  real 
(John  viii.  47).     But  the  disciples  have 
seized  the  Gospel — they  are  therefore  of 
the  truth  and  they  know  the  Paraclete 


8S  The  Holy  Spirit 

already  though  they  have  not  understood 
that  he  was  a  different  person.  ''  He 
abideth  in  you."  Already  He  was  in 
them  though  He  was  to  be  manifested 
in  power  when  Jesus  had  gone.  **  He 
shall  be  in  you."  In  verses  18-24  of  this 
chapter  we  have  described  in  most  won- 
derful manner  the  effect  of  the  Spirit 
upon  them  as  the  Spirit  of  the  truth. 
He  will  open  their  eyes  to  see  things  of 
which  they  have  never  dreamed.  He 
will  cause  them  to  see  Jesus  in  a  light 
which  should  be  brighter  than  Trans- 
figuration even.  '*  I  will  not  leave  you 
desolate ;  I  come  unto  you."  Yes,  and 
in  that  coming  the  scales  will  fall  from 
your  eyes  and  you  will  see  me  as  I  have 
never  appeared  to  you.  *'Yet  a  little 
while  and  the  world  beholdeth  me," 
that  is,  from  now  to  resurrection,  by  the 
eye  of  flesh.  "  But  ye  behold  me" — in 
a  different  fashion  both  now  and  then. 
He  speaks  of  the  spiritual  vision  which 
the  eleven  were    beginning  to  have  of 


Mission  to  the  Twelve        89 

Him  and  which  in  the  reign  of  the  Spirit 
should  be  made  so  much  clearer. 

He  proceeds,  **  Because  I  live,"  that 
is,  because  I  am  absolute  life  which  can- 
not be  disturbed  by  the  death  of  the  body, 
*'ye  shall  (so)  live  also,"  and  so  in  the 
Spirit  shall  ye  *'  behold  me."  Still  fur- 
ther, *'  In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I 
am  in  my  Father."  This  should  be  in- 
terpreted to  mean  not  the  day  of  resur- 
rection, nor  of  Pentecost  alone,  but  that 
long  day  which  is  daytime  indeed,  which 
began  with  the  return  of  Jesus  to  the 
Father  when  they  should  know  Him  by 
the  Spirit.  When  the  Spirit  of  truth 
shall  possess  you  ye  shall  then  know  the 
truth  about  my  relation  to  the  Father, 
which  is  a  relation  which  embraces  you 
also.  Jesus  in  the  Father ;  His  own  in 
Him  and  He  in  them.  That  wonderful 
union  takes  place  in  the  realm  of  the 
Spirit.  It  cannot  occur  while  He  is 
still  on  earth,  for  God  is  Spirit.  It 
must  occur  in  that  sphere  in  which  the 


90  The  Holy  Spirit 

Spirit   can   come    unhampered    to    His 
rights. 

This  is  part  of  the  truth  which  the 
Spirit  of  truth  is  to  mediate  to  them  as 
disciples  of  Jesus.  Verse  26  of  the  same 
chapter  (John  xiv.)  continues  the  same 
assurances  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of 
truth  upon  these  men.  Here  we  find 
the  phrase  **  Holy  Spirit"  for  the  first 
time  in  these  last  discourses  of  Jesus. 
This  is  the  name  which  is  so  common  in 
Christian  experience  and  in  theology. 
The  adjective  **  holy  "  here  as  elsewhere 
in  this  Gospel  denotes  not  only  moral 
purity,  but,  with  a  retrospective  glance 
at  the  original  meaning  of  the  Hebrew 
word  which  it  represents,  **  complete 
separation  from  all  that  is  of  the  world 
and  complete  consecration  to  all  that  is 
spiritual  and  heavenly."  This  Holy 
Spirit  is  to  be  sent  in  the  **  name  "  of 
Jesus  (v.  26).  Name  in  Scripture  means 
character.  The  Father  therefore  sends 
the  Spirit  on  the  ground  of  what  He  has 


Mission  to  the   Twelve        91 

in  Jesus  revealed  Himself  to  be.  Jesus 
was  the  Father's  revelation  of  redemp- 
tion. Just  because  He  was  that  must 
the  Father  send  the  Spirit. 

The  Holy  Spirit  as  Teacher 

**  He  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and 
bring  to  your  remembrance  all  that  I  said 
unto  you."  Jesus  spoke  incompletely 
to  His  disciples  because  they  were  hin- 
dered by  His  bodily  presence  from  re- 
ceiving the  full  spiritual  vision.  It  was 
not  until  He  had  laid  down  the  body  of 
His  flesh  in  sacrifice  that  they  could  ap- 
preciate the  full  meaning  of  His  mission 
and  His  person.  "  I  have  yet  many 
things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot 
bear  them  now "  (xvi.  12).  But  after 
His  departure  the  Spirit  was  to  continue 
and  complete  their  education.  He  is  the 
Spirit  of  the  truth.  He  would  therefore 
cause  them  to  know  the  truth.  "  He  shall 
teach  you  all  things. ' '  This  must  refer  to 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel  and  mean  that  the 


92  The  Holy  Spirit 

whole  bearing  of  the  message  of  salvation 
in  Christ  would  be  revealed  to  these  men. 
We  cannot  hope  therefore  to  add  any- 
thing to  what  was  known  by  these  disci- 
ples about  the  Gospel.  Their  words  are 
as  final — if  they  spoke  what  they  were 
taught — as  those  of  Christ  Himself. 

The  promise  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
verse  is  also  of  special  importance.  **  He 
shall  bring  to  your  remembrance  all  that 
I  said  unto  you."  These  are  promises 
which  deal  particularly  with  the  function 
of  these  men  as  workers  for  the  King- 
dom. Their  human  frailties  were  to  be 
swallowed  up  in  the  new  capacities  which 
were  to  be  given  to  them.  Their  human 
inabilities  were  to  be  replaced  by  spiritual 
power.  It  was  only  those  who  had  ac- 
tually heard  Him  who  could  have  their 
memories  of  Him  made  perfect.  So 
that  this  promise  must  refer  to  these  men 
in  a  direct  and  particular  sense.  It  must 
be  a  promise  of  equipment  which  only 
His  apostles  were  to   enjoy.      As  such 


Mission  to  the  Twelve       93 

how  much  force  are  we  to  allow  to  it  ? 
It  is  a  significant  thing  that  John,  the  ac- 
curacy of  whose  memory  has  been  so 
often  challenged,  should  be  the  one  of 
the  evangelists  to  record  this  saying  of 
Jesus.  He  seems  to  have  realized  that 
what  he  told  of  Jesus  must  seem  to  his 
readers  to  be  too  detailed  and  circum- 
stantial to  be  the  product  of  pure  human 
memory  ;  that  his  reports  of  the  sayings 
and  doings  of  Jesus  carried  a  claim  of 
greater  accuracy  than  was  possible.  So 
he  tells  on  what  grounds  he  claimed  to 
be  able  to  narrate  the  whole  truth.  One 
may  indeed  hesitate  to  say  just  what  de- 
gree of  accuracy  in  the  recalling  of 
Jesus'  teaching  this  promise  may  imply. 
But  it  certainly  may  be  pressed  so  far  as 
to  make  the  apostles  credible  witnesses, 
even  beyond  that  which  the  ordinary 
unaided  human  powers  could  compass,  of 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel. 


94  The  Holy  Spirit 

The  Allusion  to  the  Paraclete  in  Luke 

Another  passage  may  be  cited  to  show 
what  effect  this  coming  of  the  Paraclete 
was  intended  to  produce  upon  these 
men.  It  is  found  in  the  last  chapter  of 
Luke's  Gospel.  **  Behold,  I  send  forth 
the  promise  of  My  Father  upon  you : 
but  tarry  ye  in  the  city,  until  ye  be 
clothed  with  power  from  on  high " 
(v.  49).  This  promise  is  repeated  and 
enlarged  upon  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
book  of  Acts.  The  fourth  verse  may  in- 
deed be  a  repetition  which  Luke  gives 
in  his  second  book,  taking  up  the  sub- 
ject where  he  had  left  off.  The  eighth 
verse  of  the  same  chapter,  however, 
must  have  been  spoken  at  a  subsequent 
time,  probably  at  the  Ascension.  Both 
verses  form  a  commentary  upon  the  pas- 
sage in  Luke  and  must  be  studied  with 
it.  Luke  represents  it  as  having  been 
spoken  at  one  of  the  appearances  of  our 
Lord  during  the  forty  days  which,  as  he 


Mission  to  the  Twelve       95 

tells  us,  intervened  between  the  Resur- 
rection and  the  Ascension.  Jesus  had 
just  been  teaching  them  what  were  the 
great  fundamentals  of  the  Gospel  mes- 
sage which  they  were  going  out  into  the 
world  to  proclaim  :  the  fulfillment  of  the 
Old  Testament  revelation  concerning 
Himself ;  the  necessity  of  His  suffering 
and  death  and  resurrection  ;  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins  to  be  preached  in 
His  name  to  all  the  nations.  They  were 
to  be  witnesses  of  these  things.  These 
were  the  truths  they  were  to  proclaim. 
He  thus  specifies  the  central  doctrines 
which  they  were  to  preach  and  for  this 
great  work  He  gives  them  the  promise 
— the  expectation  that  the  long-heralded 
promise  of  the  Father  will  be  fulfilled  in 
them.  It  was  the  promise  of  the  new  era 
of  the  Spirit.  Here  is  direct  reference  to 
such  predictions  as  Isa.  xliv.  3  ;  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  27  ;  Joel  ii.  28  ;  Zech.  xii.  10.  It 
was  a  renewal  of  the  promise  of  the  Para- 
clete with  special  reference  to  themselves. 


96  The  Holy  Spirit 

The  *'  promise "  means  the  thing 
promised.  That  which  had  been  joined 
inseparably  to  the  Messianic  Kingdom  in 
the  prophetic  vision  was  now  that  the 
Kingdom  had  been  inaugurated  by  the 
death  of  the  King  to  receive  its  fulfill- 
ment also.  There  is  no  doubt  here  a  use 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  manner  of  the  Old 
Testament.  The  Spirit  was  to  equip 
them  for  special  service.  Jesus  says  to 
them,  If  you  are  disheartened  at  the 
magnitude  of  the  task  which  is  commit- 
ted to  you,  be  assured  that  you  have  not 
to  go  to  your  work  alone.  He  will  be 
with  you — the  Father's  promised  pres- 
ence. He  will  furnish  you  for  what  is 
before  you.  More  than  this  He  will  be 
the  power  actually  at  work.  It  is  a  prom- 
ise of  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  through  them  by  the  Spirit  who 
was  the  invariable  accompaniment  and 
agent  of  the  Kingdom  in  prophecy  and 
in  fact.  The  Father's  promise  that  in 
those  days  He  would  pour  out  His  Spirit 


Mission  to  the  Twelve       97 

upon  all  flesh  ;  the  Father's  promise  that 
He  would  pour  His  spirit  upon  His 
spiritual  Israel  and  that  they  should 
spring  up  among  the  grass  as  willows  by 
the  water  courses  ;  the  Father's  promise 
that  the  Lord  Jehovah  would  come  as  a 
mighty  One  and  that  His  arm  would  rule 
for  Him ;  that  He  would  come  with 
His  reward  and  would  '*  feed  His  flock 
like  a  shepherd  .  .  .  gather  the 
lambs  in  His  arm,  and  carry  them  in  His 
bosom  and  gently  lead  those  that  have 
their  young"  (Isa.  xliv,  3  ;  xl.  H). 

It  was  a  reminder  of  what  almighty 
forces  were  conspired  together  that  their 
labors  should  not  be  in  vain.  We  know 
by  the  succeeding  events  how  the  prom- 
ise was  fulfilled.  To  them  however  it 
must  have  seemed  simply  like  a  reitera- 
tion of  the  glorious  prophecies  of  the 
Old  Testament  about  the  Messianic 
Kingdom — summed  up  and  represented 
by  that  one  phrase,  the  promise  of  the 
Father. 


98  The  Holy  Spirit 

Indeed  in  the  passage  in  Acts,  they  ask 
in  words  that  betray  their  bhndness  to 
the  spiritual  import  of  His  teaching : 
**  Dost  thou  at  this  time  restore  the 
Kingdom  to  Israel  ? "  (i.  6).  This  shows 
that  the  promise  of  the  Father  was  to 
them  synonymous  with  the  establishment 
of  the  Kingdom. 

The  Allusion  in  Matthew 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  Matthew 
also  in  a  passage  which  we  have  yet  to 
discuss  records  a  saying  of  Jesus  which 
in  the  light  of  our  previous  exegesis  be- 
comes one  with  the  present  one.  After 
the  commission  which  He  gives  to  His 
apostles  in  Galilee  He  reminds  them  of 
His  presence  and  power  which  are  to  be 
with  them.  **  Lo,  I  am  with  you  all  the 
days,  even  unto  the  consummation  of  the 
age  "  (Matt,  xxviii.  20  Am.  R.  V.  mg.). 
Just  as  the  promise  of  Jehovah's  coming 
was  fulfilled  by  the  setting  up  of  Mes- 
siah's Kingdom  by  the  Spirit  in  the  per- 


Mission  to  the  Twelve       99 

son  of  Jesus  (Isa.  xl.  10),  so  the  words  of 
Jesus  promising  that  He  would  be  with 
them  are  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  descent 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  abide  in  power  with 
them  forever.  We  shall  have  occasion 
to  cite  this  passage  again  but  it  is  worth 
while  in  passing  to  note  how  rapid  and 
unexplained  are  the  changes  in  person  in 
the  prophecies  of  the  Messianic  time 
both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
We  should  be  hopelessly  confused  if  we 
were  not  elsewhere  given  the  explanation 
in  the  triune  nature  of  God. 

One  other  clause  in  the  verse  in  Luke 
calls  our  attention.  ''Tarry  ye  in  the 
city,  until  ye  be  clothed  with  power  from 
on  high."  See  also  the  passage  in  Acts 
(i.  8),  *'  Ye  shall  receive  power  when  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  come  upon  you."  In  the 
Old  Testament  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
synonymous  with  superhuman  power. 
*'  Not  by  might  nor  by  power  (human 
might  and  power)  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith 
Jehovah  of  hosts"  (Zech.  iv.  6).     The 


loo  The  Holy  Spirit 

Spirit  in  the  Old  Testament  was  Jehovah 
in  action  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Because 
He  was  God  His  Spirit  was  omnipotent. 
The  command  was  therefore  to  tarry 
until  God's  equipment  made  them  invin- 
cible. The  promise  of  the  Father  in  its 
many  expressions  took  no  account  of  hu- 
man insignificance.  In  some  of  them  it 
was  represented  as  clothing  the  children 
of  the  true  Israel  with  supernatural 
powers  [e.  g.,  Joel  ii.  28).  This  charge 
is  to  wait  the  definite  moment  when 
those  prophecies  should  be  fulfilled  in 
their  case.  Their  natural  hesitation  will 
then  all  be  overcome,  their  natural  weak- 
ness will  all  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
power  from  on  high.  It  was  the  definite 
prediction  of  the  Pentecostal  miracle. 
It  was  the  announcement  of  the  immi- 
nence of  the  new  era  of  the  Spirit's 
power.  He  had  been  in  the  world  be- 
fore, for  creation,  for  the  superintending 
of  the  preparation  for  the  Kingdom,  for 
the  sanctification  of  individual  believers. 


Mission  to  the  Twelve      loi 

But  now  at  the  end  of  the  ages  He  was 
to  be  revealed  in  power  to  establish  the 
Kingdom  in  the  earth,  to  make  effective 
in  the  hearts  of  His  people  everywhere 
the  benefits  of  the  Father's  supreme  act 
of  redeeming  love. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Promise  of  the  Paraclete:  The 
Christian  Life. 

TT  is  but  natural  that  the  relation  of 
y  the  Spirit  to  the  individual  believer 
should  be  little  developed  in  the 
teaching  of  Jesus.  We  should  expect  to 
find  that  the  apostles  to  whom  the  Spirit 
was  given  to  teach  them  all  things  would 
be  left  to  define  more  closely  the  work 
of  the  Spirit  in  sanctification.  God's 
method  is  the  natural  one  with  men  and 
He  has  revealed  to  them  as  they  were 
fitted  to  receive  them  the  various  stages 
of  His  plan  for  their  redemption.     So  in 

103 


The  Christian  Life         103 

this  respect  we  should  expect  to  find  that 
until  the  Christian  church  was  formed 
and  the  training  of  Christians  actually 
begun,  not  much  would  be  revealed 
about  the  specific  work  of  the  Spirit  in 
affecting  the  growth  of  the  holy  life. 

Accordingly  we  are  prepared  for  the 
discovery  that  it  is  in  the  writings  of  the 
apostles,  especially  of  Paul,  that  the  teach- 
ings of  our  Lord  with  respect  to  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Christian 
life  are  developed  and  supplemented. 

But  we  need  not  go  so  far  to  find  the 
seeds  of  the  teaching.  There  are  in 
the  Gospels,  particularly  in  the  Gospel 
of  John,  hints  which  in  the  light  of 
the  later  developments  are  very  signifi- 
cant. 

The  New  Birth  revealed  by  the  New  Life 

We  have  already  seen  that  Jesus  in 
the  conversation  with  Nicodemus  has 
represented  the  entrance  into  the  King- 
dom under  the  figure  of  the  new  birth. 


I04  The  Holy  Spirit 

That  is  to  say,  that  the  service  of  Christ 
is  so  revolutionary  in  its  effects  upon  the 
standards  and  ideals  of  men  that  some 
such  phrase  is  necessary  to  describe  it. 
But  a  new  birth  issues  in  a  new  life. 
And  if  the  new  birth  can  be  effected  by 
the  Spirit  alone,  so  the  new  life  can  be 
lived  only  in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit.  As 
the  Spirit  is  the  agent  who  calls  into  new 
being  the  dead  soul  and  introduces  him 
into  the  more  abundant  life,  eternal  life, 
to  use  John's  phrase,  so  the  same  Spirit 
it  is  who  is  the  sole  effective  power  that 
enables  the  newborn  soul  to  live.  The 
implanted  life  must  bring  forth  its  appro- 
priate fruit. 

Two  elements  are  involved  in  the  new 
birth.  Putting  off  and  putting  on.  The 
latter  unavoidably  carries  with  it  the  idea 
of  permanence.  The  new  life  is  eternal 
life.  Does  therefore  the  Spirit's  work 
apply  only  to  the  initiation  of  that  life  or 
not  rather  to  the  whole  course  of  it  ? 
Unmistakably  the  latter.     The  chief  pas- 


The  Christian  Life         105 

sages  which  teach  this  truth  are  of  course 
in  the  verses  which  describe  the  promise 
of  the  Paraclete,  but  before  we  discuss 
their  bearing  on  this  topic  there  are  sev- 
eral places  in  which  we  find  their  teach- 
ing anticipated. 

Jesus  and  the  Samaritan  Woman 

The  fourth  chapter  of  John's  Gospel 
contains  a  conversation  of  Jesus  with  a 
Samaritan  woman  in  which  He  reveals 
some  of  the  most  fundamental  truths  of 
the  Christian  life.  The  woman  of  Sychar 
like  Nicodemus  at  first  understands  Jesus 
literally — in  the  material  sense — and  her 
material,  formal  notions  of  religion  ap- 
pear throughout  the  chapter.  Jesus  un- 
covers to  her  what  is  the  essence  of 
religion,  in  what  consists  eternal  life  and 
what  is  the  true  relation  of  man  to  God. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  not  mentioned  by 
name,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
figure  of  the  living  water  which  will 
quench  the  deepest  thirst  of  the   soul, 


io6  The  Holy  Spirit 

which  will  be  in  every  one  who  drinks  a 
fountain  of  eternal  life,  is  intended  to 
stand  either  for  the  Holy  Spirit  or  for 
some  larger  idea  of  which  the  conception 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  part.  Notice  the 
wording  of  the  separate  verses.  Jesus 
seated  on  the  well  waits  for  the  return  of 
His  disciples  who  have  gone  into  the 
village  to  purchase  food.  The  woman 
comes  to  draw  water.  Jesus  uses  her 
common  bodily  need  to  direct  attention 
to  the  greater  needs  of  her  soul.  When 
she  wonders  at  His  having  addressed  her, 
a  Samaritan,  Jesus  replies  that  if  she  had 
been  truly  cognizant  of  God's  universal 
gift  she  would  not  have  thus  recognized 
a  fictitious  barrier  between  them.  Sa- 
maritan and  Jew  have  that  in  common 
which  makes  void  all  the  external  man- 
made  social  and  national  divisions.  It  is 
their  common  destiny  as  possible  recipi- 
ents of  the  gift  of  God.  ''  If  thou 
knewest  the  gift  of  God,  and  who  it  is 
that  saith  to  thee.  Give  me  to  drink  ;  thou 


The  Christian  Life         107 

wouldest  have  asked  of  Him,  and  He 
would  have  given  thee  Uving  w^ater." 

Is  the  ''Gift''  the  Holy  Spirit  or   Jesus 
Himself? 

What  was  the  gift  of  God  here  referred 
to  ?  Is  it  Jesus  Himself  or  is  it  the  fa- 
miliar promise  of  the  Old  Testament  to 
which  Jesus  is  alluding — the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  ?  The  structure  of  the  sen- 
tence seems  at  first  to  point  to  the  former 
alternative.  For  the  **  gift  of  God  " 
seems  to  be  parallel  with  "  Him  who 
saith  to  thee."  We  find  Jesus  also  in  the 
conversation  with  Nicodemus,  or  the 
evangelist's  comment  upon  it,  referring 
to  God's  only  begotten  Son  as  the  Father's 
gift  to  men  (iii.  16).  Paul  also  once 
uses  the  same  word  which  is  here  trans- 
lated *'  gift"  to  refer  to  the  gift  of  Christ 
(II  Cor.  ix.  15).  But  on  the  other  hand 
we  have  seen  that  Jesus  alludes  to  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  the  Father's  chief  gift  to 
man.     The    word   here    used    to    mean 


io8  The  Holy  Spirit 

"gift"  is  never  employed  elsewhere 
in  the  Gospels,  but  it  is  the  regular 
word  in  the  Acts  for  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  (Acts  ii.  38 ;  viii.  20 ; 
X,  45  ;  xi.  17).  We  may  therefore  just 
as  reasonably  read  the  passage  in  this 
light.  **  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of 
God,"  that  is,  what  provision  God  has 
made  for  supplying  your  spiritual  thirst ; 
"and  who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee, 
etc.,"  that  is,  that  One  is  here  who  can 
mediate  the  gift  to  you  ;  "  thou  wouldest 
have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  have 
given  thee  living  water,"  which  is  the 
description  of  the  gift  by  its  effects.  The 
evangelist  himself,  in  the  other  place 
where  Jesus  speaks  of  the  living  water, 
understands  Him  to  refer  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  (John  viii.  39).  This  thought 
therefore  should  have  the  preference 
here. 

The  Perpetual  Fountain 
Accordingly,  we  have  the  figure  of  the 


The  Christian  Life         109 

perpetual  fountain  which  once  sprung 
forth  from  within  the  life  of  the  individ- 
ual becomes  a  never-failing  source  of  bles- 
sedness and  joy.  This  is  the  same  truth 
which  the  Lord  expressed  in  the  conver- 
sation with  Nicodemus  but  it  is  adapted 
to  the  different  circumstances  in  which  it 
was  uttered.  There  eternal  life  is  set 
forth  under  the  figure  of  the  new  birth. 
But  birth  is  the  entrance  to  new  life. 
One  enters  by  regeneration  into  a  blessed 
state.  We  not  only  enter  but  we  con- 
tinually possess  eternal  life.  The  new 
birth  implies  a  continuous  life  under  the 
influence  of  the  same  forces  which  ef- 
fected the  birth.  This  new  life  we  call 
in  theological  language,  sanctification,  as 
we  call  the  act  of  entrance,  regeneration, 
or  the  new  birth.  So  here  the  initial  act 
of  taking  the  living  water  may  be  paral- 
leled with  the  new  birth,  while  the  perpet- 
ual fountain  of  blessing  that  is  introduced 
into  the  life  may  be  set  over  against  the 
continuous,  upward,  progressive,  sanctify- 


1 1  o  The  Holy  Spirit 

ing  process  that  is  worked  in  our  hearts 
when  we  have  entered  the  Kingdom. 

What  then  does  Jesus  say  about  the 
Christian  Ufe  ?  Just  this.  That  to  be- 
come a  Christian  one  needs  but  a  draught 
of  the  living  water.  That  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  to  us  what  water  is  to  the  bodily  thirst. 
It  is  living,  fresh,  and  invigorating  water 
flowing  ever  to  satisfy  the  thirst  of  our 
souls.  No  aspiration  of  our  souls  for 
what  is  highest  and  best  need  ever  go 
unsatisfied.  No  longing  for  holiness  and 
likeness  to  Christ  but  may,  through  this 
living  self-perpetuating  fountain,  have  its 
appropriate  response.  The  gift  of  the 
Spirit  is  once  for  all.  This  fountain  is 
not  intermittent.  We  may  grow  in  ca- 
pacity for  the  living  water.  We  doubt- 
less will  learn  to  appreciate  its  health- 
giving  qualities,  but  when  we  have  once 
truly  partaken  of  its  refreshing  stream  it 
will  be  in  us  a  well  or  fountain  of  water 
springing  up  unto  eternal  life.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  ours.     Nothing  is  required  for 


The  Christian  Life         1 1 1 

His  perpetual  and  inspiring  presence  but 
the  willingness  to  call  upon  His  ever 
present  aid.  New  thirst  will  send  us 
anew  to  the  fountain.  But  now  we  have 
learned  the  path  which  leads  to  its  side. 
Jesus  therefore  teaches  here  the  sure,  in- 
evitable progress  of  the  true  Christian  in 
the  ways  of  God.  He  uses  a  figure 
which  without  undue  straining  leads  us 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Christian  has 
not  to  agonize  in  prayer  for  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit.  The  Spirit  is  in  our  hearts. 
It  was  He  who  brought  us  to  Christ  and 
He  will  not  leave  us,  but  will  inhabit  us 
with  ever  more  pervading  power  as  we 
yield  ourselves  up  to  Him.  It  is  cer- 
tainly a  real  comfort  to  the  discouraged 
man  who  sees  his  desires  for  holiness  con- 
tinually thwarted,  who  feels  the  obstacles 
to  righteousness  in  his  own  heart,  who 
has  known  the  agony  of  battle  with  the 
old  man  of  sin  within  him,  to  know  that 
our  Lord  has  likened  his  growth  in  the 
things  of  the  Kingdom  to  the  upspring- 


1 1 2  The  Holy  Spirit 

ing  of  a  perpetual  fountain  which  shall 
truly  flow  until  his  whole  nature  has  been 
purified  and  cleansed. 

A  JLife-giving  Fountain 

But  we  have  more  than  this  on  the 
word  of  Jesus.  There  is  a  further  prom- 
ise in  the  passage  in  the  seventh  chapter 
to  which  we  have  already  referred.  **  If 
any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me 
and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as 
the  Scripture  hath  said,  from  within  him 
shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water "  (vii. 
37,  38).  Every  true  Christian  longs  to  be 
of  service  in  the  Kingdom.  He  feels  the 
desire  to  live  no  longer  unto  self,  but  unto 
Him  who  for  his  sake  died  and  rose  again 
(II.  Cor.  V.  15).  But  there  comes  inevita- 
bly the  thought  of  unfitness.  The  world's 
notions  of  material  equipment  are  apt  to 
discourage  his  endeavor.  Others  have 
more  of  wealth  and  talent.  But  Jesus 
answers  such  a  thought.  These  rivers  of 
living  water  will  flow  not  from  within 


The  Christiajt  Life         113 

him  who  has  much  of  this  world's  trea- 
sures of  gold  or  of  talent,  but  from  within 
him  who  believes  in  Him. 

Here  John  expressly  identifies  the  liv- 
ing water  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  **  But 
this  spake  He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they 
that  believed  on  Him  were  to  receive  : 
for  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  given  ;  because 
Jesus  was  not  glorified  "  (v.  39).  By  this 
John  does  not  mean  that  there  was  as  yet 
no  gift  of  the  Spirit  but  only  that  the  new 
era  of  the  Spirit  had  not  yet  arrived,  for 
the  peculiar  period  of  His  activity  was 
not  yet  come.  The  promise  awaits  the 
glorification  of  Jesus.  His  death,  resur- 
rection, and  ascension  to  glory  are  logi- 
cally prior  to  any  participation  in  their 
benefits.  John  therefore  understands 
Jesus  to  mean  that  whoever,  on  the  basis 
of  His  sacrifice,  receives  the  Holy  Spirit 
into  his  life,  whoever  has  tasted  of  the 
living  water,  shall  become  himself  a  foun- 
tain of  blessedness  and  service,  cheering, 
uplifting  everyone  with  whom  he  comes 

H 


114  ^^^  Holy  Spirit 

in  contact.  He  will  receive  through  his 
belief  in  Jesus  a  vital  impulse,  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  meaning  and  the  purpose 
of  life  so  new  and  revolutionary  that  it 
can  only  be  compared  to  the  bursting 
forth  of  a  flowing  spring  of  water  out  of 
a  dry  and  desert  place.  He  will  himself 
become  a  source  of  eternal  life. 

The  Significance  of  the  Figure 

This  figure  had  special  appropriateness 
here  just  as  it  had  at  the  well  of  Jacob. 
Every  morning  during  the  feast  of  Taber- 
nacles the  priest  went  down  to  the  pool 
of  Siloam  and  drew  from  it  water  which 
he  carried  in  a  golden  urn  and  poured  out 
before  the  Lord.  This  was  a  sign  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  Lord  had  graciously 
supplied  their  thirst  in  the  desert  wander- 
ing. It  looked  backward.  But  as  we 
learn  from  the  Talmud  the  Jews  also 
connected  the  ceremony  with  the  prom- 
ise in  Isaiah  (xii.  3)  **  With  joy  shall  ye 
draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation." 


The  Christian  Life         1 1 5 

It  consequently  looked  forward  as  well. 
It  was  a  peculiarly  typical  act — typical  of 
God's  former  leading  of  them  and  of  His 
promised  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  glad  Messianic  time.  Jesus  says 
to  them  practically  : — Henceforth  this 
ceremonial  act  need  no  longer  look  for- 
ward, for  the  promise  which  it  celebrates 
has  already  come  to  pass.  I  am  the  ful- 
fillment both  of  the  type  and  the  prom- 
ise. The  type  looked  forward  to  me  ; 
the  promise  was  a  prediction  of  the  bless- 
ing which  should  come  into  the  world 
when  the  promised  Messiah  should  ap- 
pear. The  rivers  from  the  desert  ground 
are  ready  to  spring  forth.  Just  as  it  took 
only  an  act  of  faith  on  Moses'  part  to 
cause  your  thirst  to  be  supplied,  so  now 
it  takes  only  an  act  of  faith  on  the  be- 
liever's part  to  cause  his  spiritual  aspira- 
tions to  be  satisfied.  Such  a  fountain  will 
flow  forth  from  within  him  as  will  not 
only  be  the  satisfaction  of  his  own  desires 
but  it  will  extend  and  increase  its  Ufe- 


ii6  The  Holy  Spirit 

giving  so  long  as  it  flows  and  be  the 
means  of  life  to  other  desert  lives.  The 
life  that  is  dead  in  sin,  fruitless,  unhelp- 
ful, becomes  through  this  living  water 
poured  into  it,  that  is,  through  the  Holy- 
Spirit,  not  only  itself  new  and  living,  but 
a  missionary  force  spreading  the  refresh- 
ing influences  on  every  hand. 

The  Paraclete  Chapters  confirm  these 
Promises 

But  these  blessed  truths  of  Jesus  were 
but  hints  given  in  the  case  of  the  Samari- 
tan woman  in  secret,  and  at  Tabernacles 
in  veiled  form  because  those  who  heard 
were  not  yet  ready  for  the  fuller  teaching 
of  the  new  era  of  the  Spirit.  In  the  Para- 
clete chapters  Jesus  makes  plain  to  the 
minds  of  His  disciples  what  He  had  be- 
fore spoken  in  parable.  They  said,  "  Lo, 
now  speakest  thou  plainly,  and  speakest 
no  dark  saying  "  (Trapot/Ata,  xvi.  29). 

So  we  find  in  these  chapters  abundant 
teaching  about  the  Spirit's  place  and  func- 


The  Christian  Life         1 1 7 

tion  in  the  Christian  life.  Much  of  what 
we  have  said  in  the  previous  chapter  about 
the  Spirit  and  the  apostles  may  be  applied 
with  equal  force  to  the  individual  be- 
liever. For  though  some  of  these  prom- 
ises were  no  doubt  meant  for  the  apostles 
in  a  special  sense  yet  they  have  for  us 
also  their  undoubted  application.  Just  as 
the  Paraclete  was  given  to  recall  to  the 
minds  of  the  apostles  what  they  had  ac- 
tually heard  Him  say,  so  we  may  believe 
He  is  given  to  us  to  make  real  in  our 
minds  the  words  and  the  person  of  Jesus. 
When  we  are  in  deepest  discouragement 
with  the  result  of  our  labors,  either  for 
self  or  for  the  Kingdom,  it  is  the  Spirit 
who  recalls  us  to  the  Saviour. 

So  the  Spirit  is  also  our  teacher.  We 
may  on  the  strength  of  this  promise  rely 
upon  Him  to  open  our  eyes  and  show  us 
the  truth.  The  Spirit  of  the  truth  is  our 
Paraclete  no  less  truly  than  He  was  theirs, 
though  the  special  functions  which  we 
may  be  called  upon  to  perform  are  dif- 


ii8  The  Holy  Spirit 

ferent.  So  also  though  we  have  not  been 
with  Christ  from  the  beginning  in  the 
flesh  as  were  the  twelve  (xv.  27),  yet  have 
we  also  personal  experience  of  His  power 
in  our  lives  of  which  through  the  Spirit 
we  may  testify  to  others. 

These  three  chapters  of  John's  Gospel 
(xiv.,  XV.,  xvi.),  are  utterly  incomprehen- 
sible without  the  teaching  of  the  Para- 
clete. That  is  the  central  part  of  them. 
The  disciples'  comfort  in  view  of  His 
departure  is  the  Spirit.  Prayer  for  what- 
ever they  shall  need  is  answered  because 
the  Holy  Spirit  helps  them  to  pray 
and  guides  their  judgment  (xiv.  13 ). 
The  peace  which  is  definitely  promised 
(xiv.  27)  and  which  radiates  through  all 
the  chapters  is  a  possibility  because  of 
the  promise  of  the  Spirit  and  only  so. 
The  charge  to  abide  in  Him  as  the 
branch  in  the  vine  is  only  possible  to 
the  disciples  after  His  departure  or 
ever  for  us  through  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Fruit-bearing   for    Him    is    only   possi- 


The  Christian  Life.        119 

ble  if  the  fountain  of  life-giving  water 
has  entered  our  lives.  Persecutions  for 
His  sake  w^ill  follow,  but  the  Holy  Spirit 
will  furnish  in  that  hour  the  words  for 
our  testimony.  More  than  this  He  will 
convince  the  world,  the  unsympathetic, 
persecuting  world,  of  sin  and  of  right- 
eousness and  of  judgment.  Your  labor 
though  apparently  in  vain  will  be  vindi- 
cated by  that  same  Spirit.  So  that  the 
result  for  the  Christian  of  the  Lord's 
teaching  about  the  Paraclete  is  to  give 
him  the  notion,  the  precious  promise* of 
a  great  and  all-powerful  helper  for  every 
time  of  discouragement  and  trial.  A 
guide  in  difficulty,  peace  in  trouble,  and 
a  leader  and  advocate  who  shall  make  the 
Christian's  cause  His  own  and  whose 
pleading  will  not  be  in  vain. 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Promise  of  the  Paraclete :  the 
Conviction  of  the  World. 

rHE  **  world  "  in  the  writings  of 
John  is  the  world  of  human  be- 
ings considered  apart  from  God. 
Apartness  from  God  naturally  flows  into 
the  thought  of  separation  from  God. 
These  human  beings  are  fallen  beings 
and  they  naturally  impress  their  character 
upon  the  order  which  is  their  field  of  ac- 
tivity. The  world  then  is  the  present 
evil  world  as  opposed  to  God.  It  is 
God's  rival  in  working  out  His  glorious 
plan  to  redeem  men  (John  i.  10  ;  xvii. 
1 20 


Conviction  of  the  World    1 2 1 

25  ;  I.  John  iii.  1).  Yet  God  loved  it  and 
sent  His  Son  to  bear  away  its  sin  (John  i. 
29),  who  also  became  its  Saviour  (xii.  47). 
The  world  was  separated  into  two  por- 
tions by  the  coming  of  Christ.  Some 
were  chosen  out  of  the  world  by  Him 
and  some  hate  Him  (xv.  19).  So  Christ 
and  His  disciples  on  the  one  hand  are 
opposed  by  the  world. 

John  therefore  uses  the  word  to  denote 
the  evil  forces  as  a  whole  that  are  opposed 
to  Christ.  It  is  the  rebel  world  to  which 
He  refers  when  He  uses  the  term.  And 
yet  it  is  important  that  those  who  belong 
to  the  world  may  become  reconciled  to 
God  and  may  cease  to  be  of  the  world 
by  becoming  united  to  Christ.  The 
rebels  may  lay  down  their  arms.  This 
is  the  mission  on  which  the  disciples  are 
sent  into  the  world  (xvii.  16-23). 

It  was  important,  therefore,  that  the 
apostles  and  through  them  the  Christian 
church  should  have  some  notion  of  the 
relation  in  which  the  Spirit  would  stand 


122  The  Holy  Spirit 

to  this  world  as  opposed  to  God.  They 
were  utterly  insufficient  for  its  conquest. 
The  world  hated  them — they  were  not 
of  it.  They  were  left  in  it  for  a  specific 
purpose.  What  should  be  their  attitude 
towards  it  ?  Jesus  makes  a  part  of  His 
teaching  about  the  Paraclete  to  bear  upon 
His  relation  to  the  world,  the  rebel  world 
opposed  to  God  and  to  the  plan  for  its 
redemption. 

Jesus'  Departure  was  Necessary 

It  is  necessary  to  observe  in  the  first 
place,  that  all  this  later  teaching  is  de- 
pendent upon  what  He  has  already  made 
plain  to  them — that  He  must  go  away. 
He  reiterates  that  His  departure  is  neces- 
sary (xvi.  5,  7).  The  disciples  must  be 
made  to  realize  that  Jesus'  life  on  earth 
was  but  the  preparation  for  that  era  of 
the  Spirit  when  the  glorified  Christ 
should  through  the  Spirit  win  men  to 
Himself.  That  era  was  the  real  climax 
of  the  history  of  God's  purpose  to  re- 


Conviction  of  the  IVorld    123 

deem  men.  As  John  the  Baptist  said, 
**  He  must  increase  but  I  must  decrease," 
so  in  a  real  sense  Jesus  must  renounce  the 
personal  adherence  of  His  disciples  to  His 
bodily  presence  in  order  that  they  might 
truly  receive  His  spiritual  presence.  It 
was  no  longer  to  be  Jesus  in  the  flesh. 
Henceforth  it  was  to  be  the  glorified 
Saviour.  And  this  glorified  Saviour  it 
was  the  Spirit's  mission  to  reveal  to  men. 
Jesus  came  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
He  was  the  first  to  break  this  untried  path. 
The  end  of  His  course  was  not  incarna- 
tion but  glory.  Thus  does  He  become 
the  **  first-born  among  many  brethren." 
The  truth  that  He  came  to  utter  was  a 
spiritual  one,  the  Kingdom  that  He  came 
to  found  was  spiritual.  It  was  a  spiritual 
relation  that  He  came  to  make  possible. 
Hence  anything  that  called  attention  to 
the  material  must  be  removed.  Any 
possible  misconception  of  the  spiritual 
character  of  His  mission  must  be  averted. 
Any  attempt  to  locaUze  Christianity  must 


124  ^-^^  Holy  Spirit 

be  guarded  against.  His  work  was  for 
the  world  and  was  to  continue  through- 
out the  age.  His  human  life  must  there- 
fore become  glorified  and  spiritualized 
and  so  be  made  a  matter  of  faith  for  un- 
born millions,  who  could  not  otherwise 
know  Him  than  as  a  spiritual  presence. 

Then  too,  it  was  as  a  crucified  Saviour 
that  He  was  to  fulfill  His  mission.  In 
God's  plan  the  death  of  Jesus  was  neces- 
sary to  complete  His  work.  Not  until 
His  work  for  men  had  been  finished  on 
the  cross  could  His  work  /;/  men  be 
carried  forward.  So  that  the  disciples 
not  only  could  not  become  witnesses  of 
Him  as  Son  of  God  until  His  work  as  in- 
carnate Son  had  been  done,  could  not  be- 
come heralds  of  salvation  until  salvation 
was  accomplished,  but  they  could  not 
themselves  enjoy  the  fullness  of  the  hope 
in  Christ  until  He  had  departed,  via  Cal- 
vary, for  He  died  for  them  as  well  as  for 
the  world.  And  so  He  says  again  in  this 
chapter,  *'  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go 


Conviction  of  the  IVorld    125 

away,   for  if  I  go  not  away  the  Paraclete 
will  not  come." 

Meaning  of  the  Word  '*  Convict " 

*'  When  He  has  come,  He  will  convict 
the  world  in  respect  of  sin,  and  of  right- 
eousness, and  of  judgment:"  This  word 
**  convict  "  {IXiyyoi)  means  more  than  re- 
prove, or  convince.  The  translation  in 
the  Revised  Versions  is  not  too  strong. 
It  implies  that  what  the  Spirit  says,  the 
world  will  recognize  as  just.  It  alludes 
to  the  answer  of  conscience  to  the  voice 
of  God  which  concurs  in  the  judgment 
and  makes  every  man  his  own  judge  as 
well  as  the  object  of  the  justice  of  God. 
But  notice  also  that  conviction  does  not 
carry  with  it  conversion.  Some  individ- 
uals out  of  this  rebel  world  the  Spirit  will 
undoubtedly  win  to  Himself.  Indeed 
we  may  believe  that  there  will  be  many 
and  that  there  have  been  innumerable 
multitudes  not  only  convicted  but  con- 
verted, but  the  world  as  John  uses  the 


126  The  Holy  Spirit 

term  is  and  will  be  still  hostile.  The 
promise  is  that  the  world  shall  stand 
self-condemned  before  these  men,  the 
heralds  of  the  Kingdom.  There  is  no 
other  promise  now.  There  is  no  other 
excuse  for  the  man  who  is  striving  to 
reach  the  world  through "  the  foolish- 
ness of  preaching." 

Conviction  of  Sin 

"In  respect  of  sin."  Jesus  Himself 
interprets  the  meaning  of  these  phrases 
( vv.  9-11 ).  ''  Because  they  believe  not  on 
me."  Can  we  still  proclaim  the  old- 
fashioned  truth  that  rejection  of  Jesus  is 
the  crowning  sin  ?  Jesus  makes  the 
daring  statement  that  the  world  was  all 
astray  concerning  the  nature  of  sin.  The 
world  conceived  of  sin  as  residing  in  the 
infraction  of  commandments.  Jesus  says 
the  Spirit  will  show  men  that  it  consists 
not  in  sinful  act,  but  in  sinful  attitude — 
attitude  to  God — to  truth.  So  that  the 
chief,  the  determinative  sin  of  Jesus'  day 


Conviction  of  the  World    127 

and,  shall  we  not  say,  of  our  day  also,  was 
in  maintaining  an  attitude  of  indifference 
to  Him  who  was  the  crowning  revelation 
of  God  and  the  truth  incarnate.  It  was 
no  arbitrary  condition  which  was  thus  set 
up,  but  one  which  was  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  absolutely  significant.  Sin  is  oppo- 
sition to  God — to  truth.  God  has  mani- 
fested Himself — truth  has  been  revealed. 
Attitude  to  God  and  to  truth  is  revealed 
by  attitude  to  the  manifestation  of  God 
— as  the  revelation  of  the  truth.  So 
there  is  no  need  to  mention  other  sins. 
It  is  not  sins  but  sin  with  respect  to  which 
the  world  needed  conviction. 

Conviction  of  Righteousness 

"In  respect  of  righteousness."  No 
less  than  in  respect  of  sin  did  the  world 
entertain  false  notions  in  respect  of  right- 
eousness. Conformity  was  the  world's 
standard  and  the  world  of  that  day  boasted 
of  its  righteousness  by  conformity.  Jesus 
had   already  said   that   it   was   worthless 


128  The  Holy  Spirit 

(Matt.  V.  20).  His  mission  had  been  to 
provide  a  righteousness  by  which  men 
could  be  pronounced  righteous  in  the 
sight  of  an  all-holy  God.  Hence  when 
His  work  has  been  done  and  He  has  gone 
to  His  Father  with  that  righteousness 
provided,  the  work  of  the  Spirit  will  be  to 
convince  the  world  that  it  is  God's  gift 
and  not  man's  achievement. 

Conviction  of  Judgment 

"  In  respect  of  judgment,  because  the 
prince  of  this  world  hath  been  judged." 
Jesus  was  at  that  moment  under  the  ad- 
verse judgment  of  the  world  represented 
by  the  Sanhedrin.  The  next  day  they 
would  put  Him  to  death  in  the  execution 
of  it.  But  they  were  exulting  prema- 
turely. That  act  was  really  the  act  of 
Satan,  the  prince  of  this  world.  It  was 
to  be  the  moment  of  his  potential  defeat 
and  not  of  victory.  The  prince  of  this 
world  had  already  been  judged  and  con- 
demned, and  from  that  cross  would  begin 


Co7tviction  of  the  PVorld    129 

and  continue  to  go  forth  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  of  God — the  influence  that 
should  undermine  the  prince's  apparent 
power  and  make  actual  the  victory  now 
already  pronounced  and  potential.  With 
such  words  as  these  does  Jesus  reassure 
His  half-halting  disciples  as  they  tremble 
at  the  thought  of  facing  the  hostile  world. 
No  more  than  when  He  Himself  was 
present  with  them  in  the  body  were  they 
to  be  left  alone.  The  great  heathen  as 
well  as  the  Jewish  world,  rebellious  and 
wicked,  was  to  be  convicted  of  its  sin, 
taught  a  true  righteousness,  and  made  to 
tremble  before  the  just  judgment  of  a 
holy  God.  And  so  He  could  sincerely 
tell  them  to  be  of  good  cheer  for  He  had 
thus  overcome  the  world  (xvi.  33). 
I 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Promise  of  the  Paraclete :  His 

Relation  to  the  Father  and  to  the 

Son. 

F"  #V7^E  have  neglected  certain  aspects 
f^f/^  of  the  promise  of  the  Paraclete 
in  view  of  the  inevitable  ques- 
tion which  arises  in  our  minds  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  Spirit.  One  who  had  such 
exalted  offices  to  fulfill  must  in  His  per- 
son, if  we  may  so  say,  be  also  highly  ex- 
alted. If  we  had  not  explicit  teaching 
and  direct  references  of  Jesus  to  the  per- 
sonality of  the  Spirit  we  must  have  in- 
ferred it  from  the  mission  He  was  given 
130 


Relation  to  the  Godhead    131 

to  perform.     But  we  are  not  left  to  con- 
jecture upon  so  important  a  subject. 

The  Holy  Spirit  a  Distinct  Person 

And  we  are  led  first  to  affirm  that  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus  the  Spirit  is  a  per- 
son distinct  from  the  Father  and  from 
the  Son.  Not  all  the  passages  in  which 
reference  is  made  to  the  Spirit  teach  this 
truth  plainly.  For  this  reason  some  have 
denied  it,  holding  that  the  Spirit  is  either 
simply  an  influence  which  comes  from 
God  or  that  the  Spirit  is  the  personal 
presence  of  the  glorified  Jesus.  Such 
passages  are  those  which  speak  of  the 
Spirit  as  coming  upon  one,  or  of  one  be- 
ing anointed  by  the  Spirit,  born  of  the 
Spirit  or  the  like.  But  there  are  other 
references  which  make  both  of  these  in- 
terpretations impossible  if  the  plain  mean- 
ing of  words  is  not  to  be  disregarded. 

1.  Actions  are  attributed  to  Him  and 
functions  ascribed  to  Him  which  would 
be  almost  if  not  quite  meaningless  if  He 


132  The  Holy  Spirit 

were  not  a  distinct  person.  **  It  is  not 
ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father 
that  speaketh  in  you"  (Matt.  x.  20  and 
parr.).  "He  shall  convict  the  world  of 
sin,  etc.  (John  xvi.  8  ff.).  '*  He  shall  teach 
you  all  things,"  *'  He  shall  bear  witness 
of  me  "  (John  xiv.  26  ;  xv.  26).  These 
are  actions  requiring  for  their  perform- 
ance a  sentient,  willing  personality. 

2.  The  personal  pronoun  '*  he  "  is  used 
to  describe  the  Spirit.  The  word  which 
we  translate  ''spirit"  is  in  Greek  of  the 
neuter  gender.  It  is  a  sign  therefore 
that  special  emphasis  is  intended  to  be 
laid  upon  the  masculine  personal  nature 
of  the  Paraclete  when  in  several  instances 
the  masculine  personal  pronoun  is  used 
in  referring  to  the  Spirit  and  to  the  neu- 
ter relative,  both  of  which  precede  (John 
xvi.  13,  14  ;  xiv.  26 ;  xv.  26). 

3.  He  is  joined  with  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  both  conceived  of  as  separate 
persons,  so  that  the  reasonable  conclusion 
is  that  the  Spirit  is  also  a  distinct  person 


Relation  to  the  Godhead    133 

(Matt,  xxviii.  19 ;  Matt.  xii.  31,  32).  In 
the  latter  passage  we  have  also  a  further 
confirmation  in  the  words  of  the  refer- 
ence to  the  Spirit.  Blasphemy  against  the 
Spirit  is  blasphemy  against  a  person.  You 
cannot  blaspheme  an  influence. 

His  Relation  to  the  Father 

In  John  XV.  26  a  phrase  is  used  which 
has  been  much  discussed  in  its  bearing 
upon  inter-Trinitarian  relations,  **  which 
proceedeth  from  the  Father."  The 
Greek  church  has  used  it  as  a  proof 
text  for  one  of  their  chief  differences 
with  other  Christian  churches.  They 
have  held  from  early  times  that  the  pas- 
sage means  that  the  Spirit  proceeded  from 
the  Father  and  not  from  the  Son.  They 
consequently  rejected  on  the  basis  of  this 
text  the  clauses  of  the  Athanasian  and 
later  creeds  in  which  confession  was 
made  of  a  belief  in  the  procession  of  the 
Spirit  from  the  Son.  But  a  closer  glance 
at  the  words   used  will  show   that   no 


134  'r^^  Holy  Spirit 

teaching  is  here  intended  as  to  the  mu- 
tual relation  of  being  between  the  per- 
sons of  the  Godhead.  The  word  trans- 
lated "  from  "  does  not  mean  out  of  but 
away  from  in  the  sense  of  being  sent  on  a 
mission.  The  phrase  refers  to  the  offi- 
cial relation  of  the  Spirit  to  the  Father 
and  not  to  the  essential  relation.  It  is  in- 
tended to  teach  that  just  as  Jesus  had 
come  from  the  Father  to  accomplish 
His  great  redemptive  purposes  so  the 
Spirit  was  to  come  from  the  Father  on  a 
mission  of  equal  definiteness.  The  words 
are  part  of  the  message  of  comfort  to  the 
disciples.  Through  the  Spirit  their  rela- 
tion to  the  Father  will  not  be  less  close 
than  when  Christ  was  with  them. 

We  are  no  doubt  to  see  in  this  state- 
ment a  revelation  of  a  relation  to  the 
Father  which  is  in  some  sense  subordi- 
nate. Whether  this  subordination  is  a 
real  one  or  whether  we  are  to  look  upon 
it  as  simply  an  economical  inferiority  we 
cannot  say   from   these  words  of  Jesus. 


Relation  to  the  Godhead    135 

But  the  latter  is  implied  in  the  other 
places  where  the  Father  and  the  Spirit 
are  joined.  The  Son  will  pray  to  the 
Father  and  He  will  send  another  Para- 
clete. That  is,  the  Spirit  is  to  come  from 
God  as  Jesus  had  come  and  to  do  the  same 
things  for  men  that  Jesus  had  done,  /'.  e., 
to  take  His  place.  Again,  He  is  called  the 
Spirit  of  the  truth.  Not  a  spirit  or  agent 
of  the  truth,  but  He  is  by  reason  of  His 
nature  the  very  truth  itself  in  spiritual 
form.  Jesus  proclaimed  Himself  to  be 
the  truth,  a  declaration  that  was  in  itself 
a  claim  to  divinity.  So  the  Spirit  of  the 
truth  as  the  revealer  and  agent  of  abso- 
lute truth,  of  the  very  essence  of  things 
could  be  no  less  than  God.  Still  further, 
His  work  is  a  divine  work.  He  convicts 
of  sin.  He  begets  a  new  and  super- 
natural life.  As  the  author  of  life  He  per- 
forms the  functions  of  Deity.  The  sin 
against  the  Holy  Spirit  is  also  represented 
to  be  sin  against  a  person  of  divine  value. 
All   sin   is   against    God;   hence    to   sin 


136  The  Holy  Spirit 

against  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  sin  against 
God.  When,  finally,  Jesus  brings  the 
Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
into  a  single  expression  and  commands  a 
baptism  into  one  name,  the  name,  not  the 
names  of  the  Father,  etc..  He  simply  ex- 
presses naturally  and  with  apparent  un- 
consciousness the  essential  Deity  not  only 
of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  but  of  the 
Spirit  also. 

Relation  to  the  Son 

We  have  already  in  the  preceding  sec- 
tion attempted  to  unfold  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  about  the  essential  relation  of  the 
Spirit  to  the  Son.  Jesus  is  God — the 
Spirit  is  God.  But  there  is  a  relation  also 
of  office  which  is  very  definitely  drawn  out 
in  these  chapters  which  have  for  their 
chief  subject  the  promise  of  the  Para- 
clete. The  first  mention  of  the  Spirit  in 
this  connection  is  a  definite  promise  that 
He  will  take  the  place  of  Jesus.  ''  I  will 
pray  the  Father  and  He  shall  give  you 


Relation  to  the  Godhead    137 

another  Paraclete  "  (John  xiv.  16).  That 
is,  whatever  of  help  and  of  comfort  I 
have  been  to  you  will  hereafter  be  sup- 
plied by  Him  who  comes  to  be  in  my 
place.  Throughout  these  chapters  we 
find  Him  referred  to  by  Jesus  as  intended 
to  be  His  real  representative  after  His 
glorification.  He  is  not  to  supersede 
Jesus  but  to  carry  on  and  bring  to  ful- 
fillment the  work  which  Jesus  had  al- 
ready begun  with  them.  They  had  been 
associated  with  Jesus  in  many  precious 
hours  and  had  learned  from  Him  many 
precious  lessons.  The  Spirit  would  cause 
that  none  of  those  experiences  should 
fail  of  its  intended  effect.  For  through 
Him  not  one  should  be  lost  to  them  ; 
He  would  bring  to  their  remembrance 
all  that  He  had  said  to  them  (xiv.  26). 
We  may  even  say  that  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  as  revealed  to  these  men  would  be 
more  important  than  the  work  of  Jesus 
had  been,  as  the  work  of  making  the 
seed  fruitful  and  germinant  is  of  more 


138  The  Holy  Spirit 

importance  than  the  sowing  of  the  seed. 
For  He  is  to  bear  witness  of  Christ.  He 
is  not  to  speak  of  Himself.  But  He 
shall  take  of  the  things  of  Christ  and 
show  them  unto  His  own  (xvi.  14). 

Jesus  in  other  words  intrusts  the  en- 
tire work  of  carrying  on  His  influence  in 
the  world  and  of  making  it  persistent  and 
effective  to  that  same  Spirit,  the  Paraclete. 
What  men  have  known  of  Jesus  from 
that  day  to  this,  that  is,  what  they  know 
of  His  work  and  His  revelation  of  the 
Father's  love,  and  by  experimental  knowl- 
edge of  His  gracious  redemption,  they 
have  known  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  He  shall  glorify  me  "  (John  xvi.  14). 
Here  is  one  further  reference  to  the  re- 
lation of  the  Paraclete  to  the  Son.  Jesus 
could  wait  in  simple  patience  for  His 
glory.  He  could  go  to  a  shameful  death, 
confident  that  though  the  spite  of  men 
was  being  wreaked  upon  Him  and  His 
name  was  not  respected  but  rather  hated, 
yet  in  the  new  era  of  the  Spirit  of  God 


Relation  to  the  Godhead    139 

He  would  come  to  His  own.  Glory 
would  be  His  through  the  agency  of  the 
Paraclete.  And  so  it  is,  wherever  the 
name  of  Jesus  has  received  its  appropri- 
ate homage,  wherever  He  has  been  hon- 
ored as  God's  incarnate  Son,  wherever  He 
has  been  glorified,  there  we  may  see  the 
graciously  effective  work  of  the  Paraclete. 
As  Christ  is  the  truth  so  the  Paraclete  is 
the  truth's  agent  to  make  that  truth  ef- 
fective in  the  world  (xiv.  17  ;  xvi.  13  ; 
see  also  I.  John  v.  7). 

The  Spirit  the  Medium  of  Fellowship  with 
God 

J  esus  makes  it  abundantly  plain  through- 
out these  chapters  that  whatever  of  fel- 
lowship with  the  Father  or  with  the  Son 
men  were  hereafter  to  enjoy  they  were 
to  enjoy  through  the  Spirit  of  God,  for 
their  intercourse  was  henceforth  to  be 
spiritual.  Jesus  said  to  the  woman  at  the 
well,  **  God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that  wor- 
ship Him  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and 


140  The  Holy  Spirit 

in  truth"  (John  iv.  24).  That  is,  worship 
being  communion  with  a  spiritual  being 
must  take  place  in  the  sphere  of  the 
Spirit.  Heretofore  men  had  received 
many  material  manifestations  of  God : 
the  theophanies  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
the  presence  of  specially  inspired  and  dele- 
gated men,  the  prophets  ;  and  now  at 
the  last  His  own  Son  in  the  flesh ;  but 
henceforth  men  were  to  know  Him  and 
approach  Him  in  the  Spirit.  One  great 
purpose  of  Jesus'  coming  into  the  world 
was  to  reveal  the  Father,  and  no  other 
news  about  Him  was  more  important 
than  the  knowledge  that  He  is  a  spirit- 
ual being  and  must  be  worshipped  and 
served  in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit.  So 
that  **  spirit  with  spirit  may  meet."  This 
takes  out  of  worship  all  perfunctoriness, 
banishes  the  possibility  of  hypocrisy  and 
deceit,  and  opens  up  a  real  and  vital  union 
with  God.  And  all  this  according  to 
Jesus  is  accomplished  by  the  Paraclete. 
Judas   askS;    '*  What  is   come  to  pass 


Relation  to  the  Godhead    141 

that  thou  wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us, 
and  not  unto  the  world?"  (John  xiv. 
22).  Jesus  answers,  **  If  a  man  love  me 
he  will  keep  my  word :  and  my  Father 
will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto 
him  (by  the  Spirit),  and  make  our  abode 
with  him."  Devotion  to  the  will  of 
Jesus,  keeping  His  word,  will  admit  a 
man  to  this  spiritual  union  with  the 
Father  and  with  the  Son.  In  the  day 
of  the  Spirit's  power  God  is  with  us  not 
less  really  but  rather  more  so,  than  when 
Jesus  was  present  in  the  flesh. 

We  can  see  therefore  a  relation  of  the 
Spirit  to  the  Son,  in  some  respects  appar- 
ently subordinate,  being  sent  at  His 
prayer  and  in  His  name  and  even  by 
Him  (xiv.  16,  26  ;  xvi.  7) ;  nevertheless 
we  see  Him  associated  in  a  relation  of 
absolute  equality  with  the  Son,  associ- 
ated in  the  work  of  redemption  just  as 
vitally  as  either  the  Father  or  the  Son. 
The  secret  of  this  intimacy  of  relation 
we  cannot  fully  grasp.     We  may,  how- 


142  The  Holy  Spirit 

ever,  express  it  to  ourselves  by  the  term 
w^hich  has  served  the  church  for  many 
hundred  years  as  the  confession  of  her 
faith.  The  Trinity,  the  Triune  God,  the 
three  Persons  in  the  Godhead, — the  same 
in  substance,  equal  in  power  and  glory. 

This  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the 
last  word  of  Jesus  on  the  subject  of  the 
Spirit  which  we  shall  discuss  in  the  next 
chapter.  The  Great  Commission  (Matt. 
xxviii.  19)  ends  with  the  command  to 
baptize  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the 
light  of  what  has  been  said  by  Jesus  about 
Himself  and  about  the  Spirit  these  words 
become  intelligible.  They  associate  the 
Three  in  one  phrase  as  the  conjoint  trust- 
worthy sponsors  for  the  act  of  baptism. 
Because  of  this  God,  Father,  Son  and 
Spirit,  men  are  given  the  privilege  of 
baptism,  and  because  of  such  a  God 
comes  the  certainty  that  the  holy  symbol 
will  not  be  wholly  symbol,  but  will  stand 
for  a  real  and  blessed  fact. 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Great  Commission. 

rHE  last  interview  of  Jesus  with 
His  disciples  in  Galilee  before 
His  ascension  was  marked  by  an 
event  which  for  magnificent  daring,  for 
splendid  presumption  must  have  revealed 
Him  as  an  impostor  had  He  been  less 
than  He  claimed  to  be.  On  the  eve  of 
His  departure  from  His  little  band  of  dis- 
ciples He  bids  them  go  out  and  make 
converts  of  all  nations  and  adds  the  com- 
mand to  baptize  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

143 


144  T^^^^  Holy  Spirit 

It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  in 
these  words  Jesus  prescribes  a  formula  to 
be  used  in  baptism.  It  is,  however,  nat- 
ural that  they  should  soon  be  elevated 
into  a  formula  by  those  who  loved  Him. 
And  this  was  what  actually  occurred. 
Jesus  is  not  just  now  teaching  men  what 
is  their  relation  either  to  the  Father  or  to 
the  Son  or  to  the  Spirit.  He  is  assuming 
what  He  has  previously  taught.  The 
point  of  the  passage  is  that  it  is  a  com- 
mand to  preach  truths  which  they  had 
already  learned.  They  had  been  the  re- 
cipients of  His  instruction  for  two  years 
and  more.  In  this  interview  He  is  tell- 
ing them  what  was  the  purpose  of  that 
closeness  of  personal  relation  which  they 
alone  had  enjoyed.  They  were  being 
trained  for  the  work  of  discipling  the 
nations.  What  they  had  learned  they 
were  now  to  teach.  So  Jesus  does  not 
expressly  say  what  relation  should  subsist 
between  the  Father  and  the  believer,  be- 
tween the  Son  or  Spirit  and  the  believer. 


The  Great  Commission      145 

That  has  already  been  made  sufficiently 
plain.  He  simply  alludes  to  the  fact  that 
there  are  relations  which  should  exist  and 
allows  their  memories  to  prompt  the 
thoughts  which  should  fill  the  gap.  He 
says,  **  In  the  name  of."  The  **name  " 
stands  for  the  thing  or  person  named. 
It  alludes  to  character.  **  In  the  name  " 
of  a  person  means  in  virtue  of  all  that 
that  person  is.  **The  name  of  Jesus," 
for  example,  in  the  New  Testament  is  a 
short  and  pregnant  expression  to  denote 
all  that  He  is.  So  here,  instead  of  saying 
fully  that  those  who  were  to  be  baptized 
must  be  in  a  relation  of  love  to  the 
Father,  penitently  accepting  His  gracious 
pardon  for  sin  ;  and  of  trust  with  respect 
to  Jesus  Christ,  whose  sacrifice  on  their 
behalf  has  made  that  pardon  possible  ; 
and  of  hospitality  toward  the  Holy  Spirit 
who  by  His  work  in  their  hearts  has 
made  the  world's  Redeemer  their  Re- 
deemer ;  instead  of  saying  this  which  they 
had  been  taught  many  a  time,  He  simply 
J 


146  The  Holy  Spirit 

names  the  three  persons  to  whom  the 
new  disciples  were  to  confess  allegiance 
as  one  God.  Jesus  does  not  expressly 
define  the  necessary  relation  of  the  be- 
liever to  each  of  the  Three.  For  this 
was  the  ceremony  of  entrance  to  the 
Kingdom.  Admitting  men  to  the  King- 
dom **  in  the  name "  of  these  Three 
was  admitting  them  in  virtue  of  the  rela- 
tion which  each  of  the  Three  bore  to 
the  Kingdom.  Jesus  has  proclaimed 
God  as  Father.  He  shall  be  confessed 
therefore  as  Father  by  those  who  seek 
admission  to  the  Kingdom.  This  implies 
repentance  for  all  the  old  rebellious,  un- 
filial  manner  of  life.  Jesus  has  claimed 
to  be  and  has  shown  Himself  to  be  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  the  Father  and  by 
His  death  has  fulfilled  the  mission  of  the 
Father  to  save  men.  He  therefore  is  the 
mediator  of  this  new  fellowship  with 
God.  The  Spirit  who  has  been  steadily 
promised  as  the  accompaniment  of  the 
Messianic  age  has  been  further  defined 


The  Great  Commission      147 

as  the  originator  of  the  new  Hfe  and  the 
personal  friend  and  advocate  of  the  can- 
didate for  admission  to  the  Kingdom. 
Confession  of  Him  also  must  therefore 
be  made  in  baptism.  None  of  these  ele- 
ments is  unnecessary.  Without  this  three- 
fold equipment  their  admission  to  disciple- 
ship  would  be  a  meaningless  form.  This 
is  doctrine  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms. 
Without  it  baptism  would  be  empty  and 
without  significance.  Jesus  therefore 
binds  the  Spirit  to  the  Father  and  the 
Son  in  a  necessary  unity. 

These  words  have  been  challenged  in 
recent  years  on  the  ground  that  they  are 
not  conceivable  in  the  circumstances.  Of 
course  this  view  generally  depends  also 
on  the  rejection  of  John's  records  of  the 
teaching  of  Jesus.  For  it  is  difficult  to 
receive  at  its  face  value  what  Jesus  said 
as  recorded  by  John  with  respect  to  His 
relation  to  the  Father,  and  with  respect 
to  the  relation  of  the  Paraclete  to  Father 
and  to  Son,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be 


148  The  Holy  Spirit 

surprised  at  this  intimate  association  of 
the  Three  under  one  name. 

But  the  words  as  they  stand  are  con- 
sistent with  the  majesty  of  the  scene. 
They  cannot  be  a  reflection  of  a  later 
age.  This  was  a  commission  which  our 
Lord  was  giving  to  His  church  through 
her  representatives.  He  is  revealing  to 
His  followers  of  every  age  their  mission 
to  the  world.  He  is  announcing  the 
reality  of  the  truth  which  He  earlier  fore- 
told in  parables  like  that  of  the  Leaven 
and  of  the  Mustard  Seed.  Was  it  not, 
therefore,  harmonious  with  the  character 
of  the  scene  that  He  should  thus  gather 
up  all  that  He  had  taught  about  God  into 
one  living  and  glowing  phrase,  in  one 
sentence  preserve  and  proclaim  the  full 
significance  of  the  message  they  were  go- 
ing out  to  herald  ?  Is  it  altogether  out 
of  keeping  with  the  nature  of  the  case 
that  He  should  connect  that  sentence 
with  the  very  act  by  which  converts  were 
to  be  initiated  into  the  Christian  brother- 


The  Great  Commission      149 

hood  ?  Jesus  was  never  willing  to  gain 
followers  at  the  expense  of  principle. 
He  never  wanted  disciples  who  were  not 
willing  to  accept  the  doctrinal  significance 
of  the  step  they  were  taking.  This  last 
address  was  no  less  exacting  than  His 
former  habit.  Men  were  to  be  dis- 
cipled,  taught  to  believe  upon  Him,  but 
they  were  to  be  instructed  that  disciple- 
ship  with  Him  would  necessarily  involve 
acceptance  of  His  teachings  about  God 
in  His  person  as  Father,  in  His  person  as 
Son  and  in  His  person  as  Holy  Spirit. 

We  may  even  say  that  some  such  words 
as  these  must  have  been  used  by  Jesus  be- 
fore He  left  the  earth.  We  cannot  ex- 
plain on  any  other  supposition  the  im- 
mediate and  general  use  of  Trinitarian 
language  by  the  writers  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament epistles,  nor  can  we  account  for 
the  early  Trinitarian  formula  for  baptism, 
nor  the  presence  of  the  idea  at  least  in 
the  Apostles'  Creed.  There  is  not  only 
not   the   least    improbability   that  these 


150  The  Holy  Spirit 

words  were  spoken  by  Jesus  as  recorded 
by  Matthew,  but  if  they  had  not  been 
recorded  we  must  have  known  that  some 
revelation  of  this  character  was  given,  or 
else  have  been  at  a  loss  to  explain  how 
all  these  things  came  to  pass.  We  should 
have  guessed  at  the  fact  had  it  not  been 
recorded. 

But  now  if  this  be  the  case  what  defi- 
nite teaching  of  Jesus  concerning  the 
Holy  Spirit  have  we  in  the  Great  Com- 
mission ?  It  is  the  confirmation  of  what 
we  have  found  to  be  the  fact  in  John's 
Gospel.  Namely,  that  now  that  Christ 
has  risen  we  are  in  the  new  era  of  the 
Spirit's  power  and  that  His  work  is  nec- 
essary to  make  effective  what  Jesus  has 
done.  We  see  that  at  a  time  when  atten- 
tion is  called  to  the  actual  work  of  the 
extension  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the 
world  on  the  basis  of  the  sacrificial  work 
of  the  Saviour,  it  was  necessary  for  full 
statement  of  the  truth  to  join  the  Spirit 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son  as  directly 


The  Great  Commission      151 

co-responsible  with  them  for  the  progress 
of  the  Kingdom.  This  is  not  dwelt 
upon.  That  has  already  been  done.  As 
was  natural,  Jesus  simply  alludes  to  for- 
mer teaching  and  in  this  summary  man- 
ner testifies  again  to  its  importance. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Summary. 

rO  sum  up  in  brief  our  findings  as  to 
the  teaching  of  Jesus  concerning 
the  Holy  Spirit,  we   find   that — 
First,  in  the  Old  Testament  the   Spirit 
was  revealed  in  His  cosmic,  in  His  theo- 
cratic,   and   in    His   individual   relations. 
That  the  second  of  these  relations  is  by 
far  the  most  prominent.     That  the  Spirit 
was  the  divine  superintendent,  ab  intra, 
in  the  work  of  redemption,  filling  prophet 
and  judge,    artificer  and    king  for  their 
work  of  preparation  for  the  Kingdom. 
That  even   in    Old   Testament    times 
152 


Summary  1 53 

there  was  promised  a  Messiah  whose 
age  should  be  marked  by  a  mighty  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit  when  new  and 
strange  forces  should  possess  men  and 
the  knowledge  of  God  should  be  spread 
abroad  in  new  and  wonderful  measure. 

That  as  yet  the  Spirit  was  not  revealed 
in  His  personal  character,  but  was  always 
spoken  of  as  the  power  or  energy  of  God 
working  in  the  world  and  particularly  in 
His  chosen  ones  to  accomplish  His  wise 
and  holy  purposes. 

Second,  that  the  secret  of  the  peculiar 
distribution  of  the  New  Testament  teach- 
ing about  the  Spirit  is  due  to  the  peculiar 
relation  of  Jesus'  earthly  work  to  the  ob- 
ject of  His  mission,  being  in  a  sense  pre- 
paratory and  having  to  be  completed  by 
His  death  and  resurrection,  when  first  the 
world  could  enter  into  the  full  benefit  of 
His  life  and  death  through  the  Spirit. 

Third,  that  according  to  Jesus  Himself 
He  had  been  prepared  for  His  Messianic 
work  by  an  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit 


154  ^'^^  Holy  Spirit 

as  the  Old  Testament  prophets  had  pre- 
dicted. That  this  possibly  carries  with  it 
the  sanction  of  Jesus  upon  the  New  Tes- 
tament accounts  of  His  conception  and 
birth,  and  almost  certainly  involves  His 
testimony  to  the  Spirit's  activity  at  His 
baptism  as  recorded  by  the  evangelists. 

Fourth,  that  with  respect  to  the  King- 
dom of  God  Jesus  also  reiterates  the 
teaching  of  the  prophets  as  to  the  close 
connection  of  the  Kingdom  with  the 
Spirit  and  in  dependence  upon  it  re- 
bukes the  Pharisees  because  they  had 
not  argued  the  presence  of  the  Kingdom 
and  hence  of  the  Messiah  from  the  signs 
which  He  wrought  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit.  That  entrance  into  the  Kingdom 
is  effected  by  the  transforming  power  of 
the  Spirit,  so  revolutionary  that  it  may 
fairly  be  called  a  new  birth. 

Fifth,  that  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  a  sin  against  the  redemptive 
purpose  of  God.  It  had  reference  to 
the  Spirit  because  of  His  activity  in  the 


Summary  155 

plan  to  redeem  men.  That  the  sin  prob- 
ably consisted  in  the  persistent  and  final 
rejection  of  Jesus  as  the  impersonation 
of  a  redeeming  God. 

Sixth,  that  Jesus  in  one  place  at  least 
makes  explicit  confirmation  of  this  view 
of  the  importance  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
Christian  life,  by  assuming  that  it  is 
God's  chief  gift  to  men,  by  which  all 
other  heavenly  gifts  are  received  and 
appreciated. 

Seventh,  that  both  the  Synoptic  Gospels 
and  John  record  that  Jesus  announced 
the  imminence  of  the  new  era  of  the 
Spirit  when  the  wonderful  promises  of 
the  Old  Covenant  should  be  fulfilled. 
The  name  He  gives  to  the  Spirit  in  John 
is  the  Paraclete,  a  pregnant  expression  to 
indicate  the  climax  of  helpful  power. 
That  this  promise  had  special  reference 
to  the  twelve  apostles  and  was  intended 
in  the  first  place  to  comfort  their  natural 
sorrow  at  the  prospect  of  His  death. 
That  it  was  then   intended  to  reassure 


156  The  Holy  Spirit 

them  in  the  face  of  the  enormous  re- 
sponsibilities which  were  upon  them. 
The  church  was  safe  for  the  Paraclete 
would  abide  forever.  As  the  Spirit  of 
truth  He  would  also  quicken  their  facul- 
ties and  guide  them  in  the  perception  and 
in  the  transmission  of  the  truth. 

Eighth,  that  Jesus  taught  also  the  im- 
portance of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
life  of  the  individual  Christian.  That  a 
new  birth  implies  a  new  continuous  life, 
is  in  order  to  eternal  life.  That  the  water 
of  life  implies  continual  supply  of  increas- 
ing soul- thirst.  That  participation  in  this 
eternal  life,  possession  of  this  Spirit,  issues 
in  service,  and  admits  to  the  peace  which 
the  world  cannot  give. 

Ninth,  that  the  Paraclete  has  also  a 
mission  to  the  world,  the  hostile  rebel 
world,  which  shall  relieve  His  disciples 
of  the  responsibility  of  the  world's  recep- 
tion or  rejection  of  Jesus.  Their  duty  is 
to  present ;  His  function  is  to  convict. 
That  this    conviction   is   to   render   the 


Summary  157 

world  without  excuse,  as  it  consists  in  so 
awakening  conscience  as  to  make  the 
world  its  own  judge. 

Tenth,  Jesus  teaches  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  a  person  distinct  from  the  Father  and 
from  the  Son.  That  while  for  economic 
reasons  He  is  represented  as  subordinate 
to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son  yet  that  He 
is  to  be  regarded  as  co-equal  with  them 
in  substance  and  in  authority.  That  the 
Father  sends  the  Spirit  as  He  sends  the 
Son  and  yet  the  Spirit's  work  is  peculiarly 
His  own.  That  the  Son  prays  the  Father 
for  the  Spirit's  descent  and  yet  that  the 
Son's  work  must  be  carried  on  and  ap- 
plied by  the  Spirit. 

Eleventh,  that  Jesus  joins  the  Three  in 
one  summary  phrase  which  indicates  that 
a  relation  to  each  of  the  three  persons  of 
the  Godhead  is  implied  in  the  acceptance 
of  Jesus  and  in  entrance  upon  the  Chris- 
tian life.  That  the  symbol  which  stands 
for  admission  to  discipleship  had  Father, 
Son  and  Spirit  indelibly  inscribed  upon 


158  The  Holy  Spirit 

it  to  call  attention  to  this  threefold  rela- 
tion. That  this  is  the  promise  of  the 
permanence  of  the  disciples'  work  and 
the  sure  pledge  of  the  victory  of  the 
Kingdom  in  the  hearts  of  men. 


THE  END 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


Abiding  in  Christ — through  Holy  Spirit,  ii8. 

Admission  to  Kingdom,  146. 

Advocate,  29. 

Apostles  credible  witnesses  to  Jesus,  93. 

Apostles'  Creed,   149. 

Apostles  teach  mature  doctrine  of  Trinity,  22,  23, 

30,  149. 
Apostles'  teaching  final,  92. 
Artificers,  equipped  by  Spirit,  16. 
Athanasian  Creed,  133. 

B 

Baptism — admission  to  the  Kingdom,  146. 

by  fire,  52. 

Christian,  51. 

in  name  of  Trinity,  136,  142,  144, 147. 

of  Jesus,  39,45,  57. 

of  John,  52. 
Beistand,  75. 

159 


i6o  Index  of  Subjects 

Believer,  a  source  of  eternal  life,  114. 
Blasphemy  against  Holy  Spirit,  26,  53,  57. 
Blindness  of  Apostles,  98. 


Caesarea  Philippi,  Scene  at,  83. 

Chief  Gift  of  the  Father,  62  fF. 

Christian  Baptism,  51. 

Claims  of  Jesus  to  Messiahship,  35. 

Comforter,  29,  75. 

Communion  with  Father  and  Son  through  Paraclete, 

83,89,118. 
Confession  of  Holy  Spirit  in  Baptism,  147. 
''  Convict,"  meaning  of,  125. 
Cosmos,  Spirit  and  the,  I,  17. 
Creation,  Agency  of  Spirit  in,  2,  3. 
Crowning  Sin,  Rejection  of  Jesus,  126. 
Crucifixion  must  precede  Spirit's  coming,  124. 


D 


David's  predictions  of  Messiah,  27. 

Death  of  Jesus  logically  prior  to  its  benefits,  113. 

Demons,  Dispossession  of  by  Jesus,  42. 

Departure  of  Jesus  necessary,  122  f. 

Disposition  of  the  Father  to  answer  Prayer,  63,  68. 


Index  of  Subjects  i6i 

Distribution  of  Teaching  concerning  Holy  Spirit, 

24  ff. 
Doctrine  of  Trinity,  Development  of,  19  fF. 


Education  of  the  Twelve  by  the  Spirit,  91. 
Entrance  to  the  Kingdom,  46. 
Equality  of  Holy  Spirit  with  the  Father,  135. 
Equality  of  Holy  Spirit  with  the  Son,  141. 
Eternal  Life  a  continuous  gift,  109. 


Faith  required  for  entrance  to  Kingdom,  49. 

Father's  chief  gift,  The,  62  ff. 

Fellowship  with  God,  Spirit  the  medium  of,  83,  89, 

139  ff. 
"  Finger  of  God,"  Meaning  of,  43. 
For-teller,  Prophet  a,  6. 
Fore-teller,  Prophet  a,  6. 
Fountain,  Perpetual,  108. 

Four  Gospels,  Sources  for  Teaching  of  Jesus,  24. 
Friend  in  Bed,  Parable  of,  63. 
Fruit-bearing,  through  the  Spirit,  118. 

G 

Gideon,  4. 
K 


1 62  Index  of  Subjects 

Gift,  Father's  Chief,  62  ff. 

"  Gift  "  in  New  Testament,  107  f, 

"  Gift  of  God  "  is  Holy  Spirit,  107. 

God  in  Old  Testament  Works  by  His  Spirit,  16. 

Gospels,  Sources  of  Teaching  of  Jesus,  24. 

Gospel,   John's,  Teaching  concerning    Spirit    in, 

29,  73  f- 
Gospels,  Synoptic,  Teaching  concerning  Spirit  in, 

24  fF. 

Johannine  Teaching  assumed 

in,  32. 

Great  Commission,  33,  142  f. 

Greek  Church  on  "Procession  of  the  Spirit,"  133. 

H 

Hidden  Treasure,  Parable  of,  66. 

Historical   Criticism  and  Intimations  of  Trinity  in 

Old  Testament,  20. 
Holy  Spirit,  a  permanent  Gift,  no  f. 

and  dispossession  of  demons  by  Jesus, 
42  f. 

and  Sanctification,  102  ff. 

and  Peace,  118. 

and  Prayer,  118. 

and  the  Baptism  of  Jesus,  39,  45,  57. 

and  the  Christian  Life,   102  ff. 


Index  of  Subjects  163 

Holy  Spirit  and  the  Cosmos,  i,  17. 

and  the  Individual,  14,  117  ff. 

and  the  Kingdom,  42  fF, 

and  the  Messiah,  11,  35. 

and  the  Messianic  Age,  8,  21. 

and  the  New  Birth,  49  ff. 

and  the  Plan  of  Salvation,  17. 

and  the  Prophets,  6  ff. 

and  the   Supernatural    Conception   of 

Jesus,  40,  45,  57. 
and  the  Tabernacle,  5. 
and  the  Theocracy,  3  ff. 
assures  Christian  Service,  112  f. 
as  Teacher,  91. 
Confession  of  in  Baptism,  147. 
Conviction  of  World  by,  120  ff. 
Distribution    of  Teaching  concerning, 

24- 
Equality  of,  with  Father  and  Son,  141. 
Father's  Chief  Gift,  62  ff. 
God  active  in  the  World,   16. 
in  Education  of  the  Twelve,  91. 
in  Old  Testament,  i  ft. 
in  Persecution,  24,  54,  119. 
is  "  Living  water,"  107. 
Meaning  of,  90. 


164  Index  of  Subjects 

Holy  Spirit,  Medium  of  Fellowship  with  God,  83, 
89,  139. 

Name  of,  16. 

Personality  of,  131  ff. 

"  Procession  "  of,   133. 

Regeneration  by  means  of,  46  fF. 

Sanctifying  agent  in  Old  Testament, 
14  f. 

Sin  against,  26,  53  ff. 

Spirit  of  the  Truth,  85,  91,  117. 

Subordination  of,   134,  141. 

Teaching  concerning,  in  John's  Gos- 
pel, 29,  73  f. 

Teaching  concerning,  in  Synoptic 
Gospels,  24  ff. 

Two  eras  of  manifestation,  17  f.,  33. 

I 

Importunity  in  Prayer,  63. 
Individual,  Spirit  and  the,  14,  117  ff. 
Inspiration  of  Prophets,  6  ff.,  27. 
Intimations  of  Trinity  in  Old  Testament,  19  ff. 
"  In  the  Name  of,"  145. 

J 

Jesus  Christ,  a  crucified  Saviour,  1 24. 


/ 


Index  of  Subjects  165 

Jesus  Christ,  desire  of  instructed  disciples,  149. 

mission  to  reveal  the  Father,  140. 

Rejection  of,  126. 
John's  Gospel,  Teaching  concerning  Spirit  in,  29, 

73  ff. 
Joseph,  5, 

Judas,  not  Iscariot,  140. 

Judgment,  Conviction  in  respect  of,  128. 

of  Satan,  128. 


K 

Kingdom,  Entrance  to,  46, 146. 

The,  a  Spiritual  one,  123. 

of  God,  Spirit  and  the,  26,  42  ff. 
Kings  of  Israel  equipped  by  Spirit,  16. 


Lawgivers  of  Old  Testament   equipped  by  Spirit, 
16. 

Leaven,  Parable  of,  148. 

Life-giving  Fountain,  1 1 2  ff. 

Living  Water,  106  ff. 

Localization  of  Christianity  guarded  against,  123. 

Lord's  Prayer,  63,  65. 


1 66  Index  of  Subjects 

M 

Mark's  Gospel,  Order  of,  55,  71. 

Matthew's  account  of  Sermon  on  Mount,  64  f. 

Gospel,  Order   of,  55,  71. 
Messiah,  8. 

Messiah,  Development  of  Doctrine  of,  1 1  fF. 
Equipment  of,  12,  35  fF. 
The  Spirit  and  the,  1 1  ff. 
Messianic  Age,  The  Spirit  and  the,  8,  31,  34. 
People,  The,  13. 
Prophecy,  8  fF,,  99. 
Ministry  of  Jesus  preliminary,  77. 
Mission,  Jesus'  testimony  to  His  own,  37. 
Mustard  Seed,  Parable  of,  148. 


N 


"  Name  in  Scripture,"  90. 
"  Name  in  Jesus,"  90. 
Nazareth,  Jesus  at,  25,  36. 
New  Birth  by  Spirit,  49  fF. 

by  water,  49. 

revealed  by  new  Life,  103  fF. 
New  Era  of  Spirit,  17  fF.,  33. 
Nicodemus,  46  fF.,  103. 


Index  of  Subjects  167 

O 

Old  Dispensation  witness  to  New,  52. 

Old  Testament,  preparation  for  Redeemer,  15. 

Teaching    concerning    Spirit     in, 
I  ff. 
Order  of  Mark's  Gospel,  55,  71. 

Matthew's  Gospel,  55,  71. 


Parable,  of  Friend  in  Bed,  63. 

of  Hidden  Treasure,  66. 
of  Leaven,  148. 
of  Mustard  Seed,  148. 
of  Pearl  of  Great  Price,  66. 
Paraclete,  29. 

chapters,  29,  73,  116,  118. 

Foregleams  of  later  Teaching,  28,  72. 

in  Luke's  Gospel,  94  fF.,99. 

in  Matthew's  Gospel,  98  fF. 

in  Synoptic  Gospels,  70  ff". 

Meaning  of,  74  fF, 

Personal  Helper  of  Disciples,  30,  70  fF., 
73,76,  118,119. 

Promise  of,  to  the  Twelve,  79  fF.,  85,  92, 

93- 


1 68         Index  of  Stibjects 

Paraclete,  Relation  to  the  Godhead,  130  fF. 
Relation  to  the  Father,  133  ff. 
Relation  to  the  Son,  136  ff. 
Substitute  for  Jesus,  29. 
Superintendent  of  work  of  Redemption, 

to  convict  the  world,  30,  119, 120. 
Peace  through  the  Spirit,  118. 
Pearl  of  great  Price,  Parable  of,  66. 
Pentecost,  Prediction  of,  lOO. 
Persecution,  Spirit's  Help  in,  27,  54,  119. 
Personality  of  Holy  Spirit,  131. 
Pharaoh,  5. 

Pharisees  and  unpardonable  Sin,  58. 
Pharisees,  Controversy  of  Jesus  with,  25,  42,  53. 
Plan  of  Salvation,  Stages  in  development  of,  78. 
Pool  of  Siloam,  114. 
Prayer,  Jesus'  Teaching  about,  62  ff. 

Lord's,  63,65. 

through  the  Spirit,  118. 
"  Procession  of  the  Spirit,"  133. 
Promise,  Meaning  of,  96. 
"  Promise  of  my  Father,"  94  ff. 
Prophecy,  Messianic,  8  ff.,  99. 
Oral,  7. 
Written,  7. 


Index  of  Subjects  169 

Prophets   equipped  by  Spirit,  i6. 

Inspiration  of,  6  fF.,  27. 

of  Judah  and  Israel,  16. 

Representative  of  God,  140. 
Psychology,  Scriptures  not  to  teach,  8. 

R 

Redeemer  for  Israel,  11, 

Redemption  Agent,  Holy  Spirit,  16,  18. 

Regeneration  by  Holy  Spirit,  46  fF. 

of  Israel,  9. 
Rejection  of  Jesus,  crowning  Sin,  126. 

Sin  against  Holy  Spirit,  60. 
Religious  Life  of  Old  Testament  Saints,  14. 
Righteousness,  Conviction  in  respect  of,  127  fF. 
God's  gift,  128. 


Samaritan  woman,  105,  116,  139. 

Samson,  4. 

Sanctification,  Work  of  Spirit  in,  102  fF, 

Sanctifying  agency  of  Spirit  in  Old  Testament,  15, 

17- 
Satan,  author  of  Jesus'  Condemnation,  128. 

Saul,  4. 


1 70         Index  of  Subjects 

Sermon  on  Mount  in  Matthew's  Gospel,  64  f. 

Servant  of  Jehovah,  12  ff.,  36. 

Servants  of  God  equipped  with  Spirit,  28. 

Service,  Christian,  assured  by  Spirit,  1 1 2  f. 

Sin,  Conviction  in  respect  of,  126  f. 

Sonship  of  Christ  in  Old  Testament,  18 

Spirit  of  God  (see  Holy  Spirit). 

Spirit  of  Truth,  85  ff.,  91,  117. 

Spiritual  Kingdom,  123. 

Stages  of  Plan  of  Salvation,  78. 

Subordination  of  Holy  Spirit,  134,  141. 

Suffering  Saviour,  12. 

Superintendence  of  Redemption  by  Spirit,  17. 

Supernatural  Conception,  40,45,  57. 

Sychar,  105. 

Synoptic  Gospels,  Johannine  Teaching  assumed  in, 

32- 
Teaching    concerning    Spirit  in, 
24  ff. 


Tabernacle,  Building  of,  5. 
Tabernacles,  Feast  of,  114,  116. 
Talmud,  1 14. 
Teacher,  Holy  Spirit  as,  91. 


Index  of  Subjects  1 7 1 

Temptation  of  Jesus,  39,  51. 

Testimony  of  Jesus  to  His  own  Mission,  37, 

"  That  Day,"  meaning  of,  89. 

Theocracy,  Spirit  in,  3  ff. 

Theophanies  of  Old  Testament,  140. 

Three  Years  of  Jesus'  Ministry,  Importance  of,  34. 

Topical  character  of  Luke's  Gospel,  54,  71. 

Transition  in   Gospel  Teaching  concerning  Spirit, 

27. 
Trinitarian  baptismal  formula,  149. 

language  in  epistles,  149. 
Trinity  in  Christian  Doctrine,  142. 
Trinity  in  Old  Testament,  18  ff, 
"  Truth  "  in  John's  Gospel,  86  f. 
Truth,  Spirit  of,  85  ff.,  91,  1 17. 
Two  elements  in  New  Birth,  104. 
Two  eras  of  Spirit's  Power,  1 7  ff. 

U 
Unpardonable  Sin,  26,  53  ff.,  59. 


W 

Well  of  Jacob,  114. 

Wicked  men,  God's  use  of,  4. 


172  Index  of  Subjects 

World,  Conviction  of,  by  Spirit,  120  fF. 
"  World  "  in  writings  of  John,  120  fF. 


Y 

Year  of  Juoilee,  37. 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS 


Genesis  i.  2 

2 

Psalms  ex.  i 

27 

i.  26 

2 

cxliii.  10 

15 

ii.  7 

2 

xli.  38 

5 

Isaiah  xi.  i 

12 

Exodus  xxxi.  3 

5 

xii.  3 
xxxii.  15-17 

114 
9 

Numbers  xi.  17 
xi.  25-30 

5 
5 

xl.  10 
II 

xlii.  I 

99 

97 
12 

Deuteronomy   xxxii. 

II 
2 

xliv.  2,  3 

3 
xlviii.  10 

9 
97 
13 

Judges  vi.  34 

4 

14-16 

i3>  14 

xiii.  25 

4 

16 

20 

I  Samuel  x.  6 

4 

Ixi,  I 

25,36 

Job  xxvi.  13 

3 

Ezekiel  xxxvi. 

27 

10,95 

XXX.  4 

3 

xxxvii.  14 

10 

Psalms  li.  1 1 

15 

Joel  ii.    28-3C 

)    10,    95, 

civ.  30 

3 

I 

73 

100 

174 


Index  of  Texts 


Zechariah  iv.  6  99 

xii.  10  95 


Matthew  iii.  1 1 

50  {his) 

V.  20 

128 

vi.33 

66 

vii.  7-1 1 

64 

X.  19,  20 

27 

20 

707I32 

xii.  22, 23 

53 

28 

26,43 

31^32 

133 

xvi.  15  fF. 

83 

xxii.  43i44 

27 

xxiii.  29-39 

57 

xxviii.  19     29, 

i33>  142 

20 

98 

Mark  iii.  i9b-30         53 
xii.  36  27 

xiii.  II  27,70 

Luke  iv.  18  25,  36 

xi.  13  63 

14-26  53 


Luke  xi.  20 

43 

xii,  10 

54 

12 

27,  71 

xxiv.  49 

29,94 

John  i.  10 

120 

29 

121 

32,33 

50 

iii.  3 

46 

5 

47.50 

15-17 

47 

16 

107 

iv,  I 

105 

24 

140 

vii.  37,  38 

112 

39 

113 

viii,  39 

108 

47 

87 

xii.  47 

121 

xiv-xvi. 

29, 

73.  "6> 
118 

xiv.  13 

118 

16 

84, 

137,141 

17 

87,  139 

18-25 

88 

22 

141 

Index  of  Texts 


175 


John  xiv.  26 

90, 
i37> 

132, 
141 

John  xvii 

.  25 

121 

27 

ii8 

Acts  i.  4 

29 

XV.  19 

121 

6 

98 

26 

132 

.133 

8 

99 

27 

118 

ii.  16 

10 

xvi.  6,  7 

122 

38 

108 

7 

141 

vii.  51 

57 

8  fF. 

132 

viii.  20 

108 

9-1 1 

126 

X.45 

108 

12 

91 

xi.  17 

108 

13 

139 

13.14 

132 

II  Corinthians  v. 

15  112 

14 

138 

ix.  15 

107 

26 

85 

29 

116 

Galatians 

ii.  5 

86 

33 

129 

xvii.  16-23 

121 

I  Peter  i. 

10-12 

21 

The  Teaching  ofjesus  Concerning  His 
Own  Mission 

BY 

Frank  Hugh  Foster,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

PRESS  NOTICES. 

"  The  style  is  clear,  the  thought  elevated,  the  topics  treated  of  are, 
in  their  logical  deductions,  extremely  practical.  Students  of  the  Bible 
generally  will  find  this  a  very  useful  volume  to  peruse  and  possess." 
N.    Y.   Obser'ver. 

"If  this  first  volume  of  this  series  is  a  fair  specimen  and  representative 
of  those  that  will  follow,  the  series  will  not  lack  in  ability  or  interest. 
Dr.  Foster's  position  is  that  of  the  conservative  scholar  who  neverthe- 
less is  familiar  with  current  critical  investigations.  The  style  of  presen- 
tation is  clear  and  admirably  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  layman  and  the 
student."      The  Interior. 

"This  is  a  wonderfully  interesting,  suggestive  and  stimulating  little 
book."      The  Baptist  Teacher. 

"A  very  thoughtful  and  helpful  book.  .  .  will  be  found  instructive 
and  quickening."       The  Examiner. 

"The  book  is  the  work  of  a  thorough  scholar,  is  conservative  yet 
progressive,  and  gives  a  remarkably  wholesome  presentation  of  a  very 
important  subject."      The  Baptist  Argus. 

"  Scholarly  but  popular.  .  .  will  bt  found  extremely  useful  to  all  who 
desire  a  concise  but  accurate  and  comprehensive  presentation  of  the  lead- 
ing teachings  of  Jesus  concerning  his  mission."  Baptist  Re-viev)  and 
Expositor. 

"Clear  and  simple  enough  for  the  intelligent  layman,  but  not  unhelp- 
ful to  the  clergyman  who  wants  clearer  ideas  as  to  his  Lord's  atoning 
work."      The  Treasury. 

I  imo.  Cloth  bound.  Pp.  viiiy  136.  Price  75  cents. 


The  Teaching  ofjesus  Concerning  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  the  Church 

BY 

Geerhardus  Vos^  Ph.D.^  D.D. 


PRESS  NOTICES. 

"  This  is  a  thorough  yet  compact  study  of  Christ's  teaching  on  the 
Kingdom  and  the  Church."      Auburn  Seminary  Rcvirw. 

"A  vigorous  and  discriminating  discussion  of  a  vital  theme.  .  .  will  be 
read  with  help  and  satisfaction  by  a  large  audience. ' '  TAe  Baptist  Ar- 
gus. 

"The  discussion  in  this  volume  is  of  a  great  question,  and  the  treat- 
ment is  attractive  and  luminous. ' '      The  Herald  and  Presbyter. 

"A  scholarly  volume.  .  .  .  the  whole  argument  is  well  expressed  and 
worthy  of  profound  consideration. ' '      The  Examiner. 

"Scholarly,  comprehensive  and  condensed.  The  discussion  shows 
wide  reading  of  the  literature  of  the  subject,  evangelical  conviction  and 
feeling,  and  great  skill  in  the  use  of  exegetical  power.  The  conclu- 
sions reached,  as  briefly  restated  in  the  closing  chapter,  will  commend 
themselves  to  earnest  and  moderate  men,  and  the  whole  discussioo  will 
be  fascinating  and  suggestive  to  trained  students."      N.   T.  Obser-ver. 

"Impartial,  reverent  and  very  carefiil.  .  .  .  Dr.  Vos'  standpoint  is  at 
once  modern  and  temperate.  His  study  will  be  of  value,  not  merely  to 
the  trained  student  but  to  the  general  reader  as  well. "  The  Church- 
man. 

"  The  author  has  given  a  clear,  strong,  convincing  argument  in  re- 
gard to  his  conception  of  the  nature  and  place  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
in  the  world.  It  is  a  book  that  is  profitable  for  reading,  study  and  re- 
reading. ' '       The  Mid/and  Methodist. 

"A  scholarly  exposition  of  what  is  recognized  to  be  the  dominant 
theme  of  Christ's  teaching.  Especially  valuable  is  the  exegesis  of  Pe- 
ter's confession  and  Christ's  consequent  declarations."  The  Congrega- 
tionalist. 

iimo.  Cloth  bound.  Pp.  viy  203.  Price  75  cents. 


The  Teaching  of  Jesus  Concerning  the 

Scriptures 

BY 

David  James  Burr  ell,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

PRESS  NOTICES. 

"  In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  Dr.  Burrell  has  rendered 
the  church  a  real  service  "     United  Presbyterian. 

"The   argument   is  strong   and    legitimate   and   the   style 
vivacious  and  attractive."     Lutheran  IVorld. 

"A  book   that   must   appeal   to   every   thoughtful   mind." 
Midland  Methodist. 

''  The  book  is  one  of  value  and  well  worthy  a  place  in  the 
series  of  which  it  forms  a  part."     Religious  Telescope, 

"A  thoughtful  book  by  an  able  writw-  on  a  timely  topic." 
Christian  Instructor. 

"  "f  he  style  of  the  discussion  is  brilliant  and  its  tone  kindly 
and  persuasive.     The  IVatchman. 

"A  bold   and   ringing  book,  and   we  bid   it    Godspeed." 
Baptist  Argus. 

"A  strong  and  valuable  contribution."     Herald  and  Pres- 
byter. 

"  Well  written  and  very  readable."     The  Living  Church. 

"  pr.   Burrell  writes  with  profound  conviction  and  much 
fervor."     N.  Y.  Christian  Advotate. 

"The  book  is  most  timdy."     Christian  Observer. 

"The  book  is  done  with   absolute  thoroughness."     The 
Advance. 

'    "  One  of  the  best  books  extant  on  the  theme. "  J'he  Observer. 

"  From  start  to  finish  the  book  is  c:">e  that  will  interest." 
Zion's  Herald. 

i2mo.  Cloth  bound.    Pp.Tfu,2ii.   Price  j^  cents. 


The  Teaching  of  Jesus  Concerning  God 

the  Father 

BY 

Archibald  T.  Robertson,  D.D. 

PRESS  NOTICES. 

"A  fresh,  reverent  and  strong  presentation  of  the  vital  theme." 
Louisville  Courier  Journal. 

"  No  one  can  read  the  book  without  having  his  conception 
of  God  quickened,  and  having  a  clearer  view  of  the  mission  of 
Jesus  as  the  revealer  of  the  Father."     Canadian  Baptist. 

"The  method  is  scholarly,  the  spirit  is  evangelical  and  the 
result  is  worthy  of  the  careful  attention  of  devout  readers." 
Herald  and  Presbyter. 

"  Both  the  subject  and  the  writer  promised  so  much  that  we 
read  it  through,  though  tired  from  a  hard  day's  work,  and  we 
found  that  all  the  promises  were  fulfilled."     Baptist  /Irgus. 

"  Reverent  in  tone,  dignified  in  style,  helpful  in  purpose,  and 
true  to  the  heart  of  the  message  of  Christ."  Religious  Telescope. 

"An  original  study  of  the  Scriptures."     Baptist  Standard. 

"  It  is  well  and  wisely  done."     IVatchword  and  Truth. 

"  Comprehensive  and  spiritual."     The  Advance. 

"A  sound,  safe  treatment  of  the  subject  in  hand."  Central 
Baptist. 

"Able  and  scholarly."     Christian  Observer. 

"  The  style  is  bright  and  vigorous — there  is  not  a  dull  page 
in  the  book,  it  is  written  for  the  people.  Those  who  want 
to  know  in  brief  conlpass  what  Jesus  teaches  about  God  will 
find  it  arranged,  explained  and  emphasized  in  this  book." 
Louisville  Courier-Journal. 

i2mo.  Cloth  bound.  Pp.  viii.  182.  Price  y^  cents. 


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